Judicial Independence? Never Heard of Her.
The Utah GOP’s Plan to Rig the Courts.
Welcome back to another episode of “Utah’s Republican Supermajority Tries to Rig the System.” Exhausted? Same. But this one is, like, REALLY important. This is a full-scale power grab that will impact redistricting, abortion access, your right to a fair trial and basic checks and balances in Utah, and probably so much else.
This year, Utah Republicans are waging an all-out war on the judiciary. They’ve introduced a lovely suite of bills designed to punish judges who rule against them, block your ability to sue the government, and turn the courts into a GOP-controlled rubber stamp. If they can’t win in court, they’ll just take over the courts.
The Backstory: The GOP is Losing in Court, So They’re Changing the Rules
Utah’s Republican supermajority loves passing blatantly unconstitutional laws. And when the courts step in to check their power, they throw legislative tantrums. The solution is to rig the judiciary so they never lose again.
Here are some of their biggest legal Ls of late:
Better Boundaries & Redistricting (2022 - TBD; Litigation ongoing): After voters passed Prop 4 to stop gerrymandering, the Legislature ignored it and carved up Utah’s congressional maps to dilute Democratic votes. The Utah Supreme Court ruled the Legislature could be sued for this, giving the Better Boundaries lawsuit the green light. If the lawsuit succeeds, we could get fair maps in 2026—and the GOP is terrified. Read all about it in our Substack.
Abortion Trigger Ban (2022 - TBD; Litigation ongoing): When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Utah’s Legislature tried to immediately ban almost all abortions. The courts blocked it, keeping abortion legal up to 18 weeks. In August 2024, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that the near-total abortion ban should stay blocked until a lower court can assess its constitutionality.
Trans Sports Ban (2022 - TBD; Litigation ongoing): Utah Republicans passed a blanket ban on transgender girls in school sports. Governor Spencer Cox initially vetoed it, but the Legislature overrode him in a special session. A judge blocked the ban, and now a trial is scheduled for April 2025.
Constitutional Amendments (2024): With Amendment D, the Legislature attempted to rewrite the rules to strip citizens of their right to fight back through ballot initiatives. The Utah Supreme Court took one look at it and said absolutely not.
Every single one of these rulings stopped the GOP’s worst impulses from becoming law. So now, they’re coming for the courts themselves.
The 2025 Power Grab: Destroying Judicial Independence
Now that the courts have ruled against their worst legislative efforts, Utah’s Republican leaders have launched a coordinated attack on judicial independence. Their goal is simple:
Politicize judicial retention
Make it harder to challenge their agenda
Stack the Utah Supreme Court in their favor
They are going to make it seem like it's complicated legalese that no one but Brady Brammer and Dan McCay can understand but let’s go bill by bill, shall we?
HB512 – The “Judges Work for Us Now” Bill (Rep. Karianne Lisonbee)
This one is particularly brazen.
Right now, judges stand for nonpartisan retention elections, meaning voters decide whether to keep them based on their record, not political pressure. HB512 would create a new Legislature-run committee to “evaluate” judges before their elections, and their recommendations would be printed directly on the ballot.
Let’s talk about the real reason they want this: the courts blocked Karianne’s abortion ban, anti-trans law, and gerrymandered maps. They want to punish judges for not rubber-stamping their agenda. Just straight-up retaliation.
Status as of 10 AM on 3/3/25: Awaiting a final vote in the House before it heads to the Senate
HB451 – Raising the Bar So High No Judge Stays on the Bench (Rep. Jason Kyle)
Under HB451, judges would need 67% of the vote to keep their seats. That’s the highest retention threshold in the entire country.
The real reason they want this? If a judge rules against a Republican policy, they only need to convince one-third of voters to remove them. This, combined with Lisonbee’s HB512, would make it nearly impossible for a judge who rules against the supermajority’s agenda to stay on the bench. Hmmmmm….
Status as of 10 AM on 3/3/25: Waiting to be assigned to a standing committee (likely won’t see any movement this session)
SB203 – Taking Away Your Right to Sue the Government (Sen. Brady Brammer)
Right now, if the Legislature passes an unconstitutional law, Utahns can sue to overturn it. SB203 changes that by restricting who has the right to bring legal challenges.
This one is meant to block lawsuits by well-resourced and well-funded organizations like the ACLU, League of Women Voters, Better Boundaries, Planned Parenthood, and more. Organizations like these have filed all of the recent lawsuits against the legislature. This bill would make it much more difficult to sue, not just due to standing, but due to the resources it takes to engage in these years-long legal battles.
Status as of 10 AM on 3/3/25: Already passed the Senate, awaiting a final vote in the House (will have to go back to the Senate for a final concurrence vote before heading to the Gov.)
SB154 & SJR4 – And If You Can Sue, We’ll Steal Your Legal Strategy (Sen. Brady Brammer)
These bills allow Utah legislative auditors to compel the release of confidential legal and political strategy documents, even those protected by attorney-client privilege.
If the state is sued—whether it’s Better Boundaries fighting gerrymandering or Planned Parenthood challenging an abortion ban—a legislative auditor can force the opposition to reveal their legal strategy. Basically, they want to cheat in court.
Status as of 10 AM on 3/3/25:
SB154 - Already passed the Senate, will be heard in House committee this afternoon
SJR4 - Awaiting a final vote in the Senate before it moves to the House
SB296 – The “Governor’s Supreme Court Takeover” Bill (Sen. Chris Wilson)
Right now, Utah Supreme Court justices choose their own Chief Justice. SB296 gives that power to the Governor, letting them handpick the court’s top judge.
Republicans are done losing in court. By letting the Governor handpick the Chief Justice, they can install a loyalist, control the court’s internal operations, fast-track cases that serve their agenda, and sideline legal challenges. This isn’t about justice—it’s about turning the judiciary into a political weapon.
Status as of 10 AM on 3/3/25: Already passed the Senate, passed out of House committee this morning and now heads to the full House for consideration.
The Utah Supreme Court vs. Legislators
As the Legislature kicked off its session, Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant gave his State of the Judiciary address—a usually dull, procedural speech. But this year he came out swinging.
"We all swear to support, obey, and defend the Constitution, but judges must be free to abide by that oath—without fear of adverse personal consequences."
The GOP’s response: Scowling. Crossed arms. Silence. Why you may ask? House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams were already drafting their response: a package of bills that would strip the judiciary of its independence and consolidate power under the Legislature and Governor.
After the bills were released, the Utah Supreme Court issued an unprecedented warning about the Legislature’s aggressive attempts to seize control of the judiciary, calling the proposed suite of bills "a broad attack on judicial independence." Chief Justice Matthew Durrant and Justice Paige Petersen have publicly condemned the legislative efforts, arguing that they threaten the fundamental separation of powers and would turn Utah’s courts into a partisan tool for lawmakers. And they’re right.
At a recent Judicial Council meeting, Petersen was particularly blunt, calling the Legislature’s efforts “retribution” for judicial decisions that blocked some of their most controversial laws. "No, it’s retribution. It’s obviously retribution, and I’m not sure why we’re not saying that." She warned that these bills would create political pressure on judges, forcing them to rule in ways that please lawmakers rather than upholding the law. Petersen also pointed to Republican attempts to raise the retention election threshold to 67%, a move she said was designed to purge judges who rule independently.
Durrant echoed these concerns, warning that the Legislature’s attack on the courts would undermine public trust and threaten the ability of judges to make rulings based on the law, not political consequences. He criticized SB296, which would allow the governor to handpick the Utah Supreme Court’s chief justice, saying that it would put political pressure on judges and make them think more about their next confirmation hearing than about delivering impartial justice.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders have not backed down. Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz have continued to defend their legislative push, dismissing concerns from the judiciary. Adams has argued that "there ought to be a little bit of a check on the judge every four years," while Schultz claimed that giving lawmakers a say in judicial retention would make the courts more “accountable”... accountable to who, I wonder, but I digress.
Adding fuel to the fire, Sen. Brady Brammer, a lawyer himself who is running the majority of these awful bills (and has an absolutely “I am so much smarter than everyone else” attitude), has launched a separate attack on the judiciary, accusing the Utah Supreme Court of being “woefully unproductive.” He claims that Utah’s highest court issued fewer opinions than any other state supreme court in 2023 and has used this argument to justify expanding the court (adding more justices appointed by the Republican-controlled government, that is) and subjecting judges to more political oversight. Petersen, however, has called Brammer’s claim “absolutely false,” explaining that Utah’s Supreme Court has a different structure than other state courts and emphasizing that there is no backlog of cases.
Despite fierce opposition from legal experts, Republicans appear determined to push forward with their judicial takeover. Over 900 Utah attorneys have signed a letter opposing these bills, warning that they represent a dangerous erosion of democracy and will turn the judiciary into a rubber stamp for the Legislature’s agenda. However, with a Republican supermajority in both chambers, these bills are still moving forward—setting up a potential constitutional crisis over whether Utah’s courts will remain independent or become an extension of legislative power.
What Happens if These Bills Pass?
Imagine a Utah where:
Judges are scared to rule against the Legislature because they know a partisan committee will tell voters to fire them.
Voters try to get rid of an unconstitutional law, but they can’t sue because they don’t have “standing.”
The Governor picks the Chief Justice and reshapes the entire judiciary to favor the GOP’s agenda.
It’s not a hypothetical. It’s exactly what they’re trying to do right now. If these legislative proposals are enacted, Utah's judicial landscape could undergo a seismic shift:
Erosion of Judicial Independence: Judges may feel compelled to rule in favor of legislative preferences to secure positive evaluations and retain their positions, undermining impartial justice.
Politicization of the Courts: The infusion of partisan politics into judicial retention and appointments could transform the courts into extensions of the legislative and executive branches, rather than independent arbiters of the law.
Diminished Public Trust: As the judiciary becomes more entangled with political machinations, public confidence in the court's ability to deliver fair and unbiased justice may wane.
The Bigger Picture: Project 2025 & The National Playbook for Gutting Courts
This attack on judicial independence may not be entirely motivated by retribution, but rather, a further sucking up to the Trump Administration, which you can hear absolutely everywhere if you’ve had to listen to committee hearings or floor debates this session. Utah’s judicial takeover is ripped straight from Project 2025, a far-right agenda from the Heritage Foundation aimed at dismantling checks and balances nationwide. One of the key goals is stacking the courts with ideologically loyal judges.
This agenda isn’t just theoretical—far-right organizations are actively testing these strategies in states like Utah, where Republican supermajorities can push extreme policies with little resistance. The assault on Utah’s courts is part of a broader playbook to weaken checks and balances nationwide.
These state-level initiatives serve as testing grounds for the broader goals of Project 2025, normalizing the erosion of judicial independence and setting precedents that could be replicated nationwide.
The Implications for Utah and Beyond
If these legislative efforts succeed, Utah's judiciary could transform from an independent arbiter of justice into a body subservient to political interests. This shift would have profound consequences:
Erosion of Public Trust: Citizens rely on an impartial judiciary to uphold their rights. Politicizing the courts undermines this trust, leading to skepticism and decreased civic engagement.
Precedent for Other States: Utah's actions could inspire similar moves in other states, leading to a nationwide erosion of judicial independence.
Impact on Civil Rights: A judiciary influenced by partisan politics may fail to protect minority rights, uphold fair electoral processes, or check unconstitutional legislative actions.
The coordinated efforts between national projects like Project 2025 and state legislatures represent a concerted attempt to reshape the judiciary to serve specific political agendas. Defending the independence of our courts is not a partisan issue; it's a fundamental pillar of our democracy. Utahns, and all Americans, must recognize the gravity of these actions and advocate for a judiciary that remains free from political manipulation, ensuring justice and fairness for all.
The Supermajority is Weak, and They Know It
The only reason Republicans are going after the courts this aggressively is because they’re scared. They see the state changing—young voters moving left, demographic shifts, the cracks in their gerrymandered districts—and they know that if they don’t rewrite the rules, they’ll eventually lose fair and square.
That’s why they’re trying to kneecap judicial independence before the courts can enforce fair elections.
But here’s the thing: they’re overplaying their hand. Voters don’t like power grabs. They don’t like politicians deciding who stays on the bench. And they definitely don’t like lawmakers trying to make themselves untouchable.
If we fight back now, we can stop this. We’ve beaten them before—we can do it again. They are toddlers who don’t want to share. They think they deserve all the power, but unfortunately for them, the constitution, separation of powers, and average Utahns are going to teach them a lesson that we all learned in kindergarten.
Utah isn’t a lost cause. It’s a battleground. And this battle isn’t over yet.
Here’s what needs to happen, and I cannot stress this enough:
Call. Email. Text. Your legislators.
Make noise.
Demand accountability.
And most importantly—stop letting them get away with this. Call this power grab exactly what it is. It’s time to fight back.
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