Utah Senate unanimously confirms two judges to Court of Appeals and Fourth District

The Utah Senate on Aug. 17, 2021, unanimously consented to two judicial appointments sent by Gov. Spencer J. Cox, approving Ryan Tenney for the Utah Court of Appeals and Sean Peterson for the Fourth District Court.

The session opened on a proclamation calling the fourth extraordinary session to consider gubernatorial and Department of Health appointments. The Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee reported favorable recommendations for both nominees. Chair Todd Wyler told the Senate the committee had interviewed Tenney and Peterson and recommended confirmation based on interviews and professional records.

The Senate voted on Tenney’s confirmation by roll call and President J. Stuart Adams announced the result as 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent. After the vote, Ryan Tenney addressed the Senate, thanking the governor and his family. Tenney said he hopes that, years from now, people will say of him that he was "fair," "thoughtful," "respectful to all the parties that came before me," and that he strove "to base decisions on the text of the statutes." He pledged to apply the law and respect the rule of law on the Court of Appeals.

The Senate next considered Sean Peterson’s nomination to the Fourth District Court. Chair Wyler and several senators described Peterson’s background as a court commissioner and an attorney in Utah County and moved that the Senate consent to the appointment. The Senate recorded the vote and President Adams again announced the consent with 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent. Judge Peterson thanked the confirmation committee and said he was "absolutely humbled" to serve, noting his roots in Provo and his commitment to listening to parties and applying the law.

Both confirmations were processed under the statutory provisions cited in the communications accompanying the nominations (citing provisions of the Utah Constitution governing judicial appointments and the applicable sections of the Utah Code). The Senate resolved into a Committee of the Whole to hear brief remarks from each judge and then dissolved the Committee of the Whole by voice vote.

The confirmations now take effect according to the statutory and administrative processes for judicial appointments and the senators congratulated the newly confirmed judges in the chamber.