Chief Justice Durand urges continued court innovations, asks for $3.9 million to retain judicial assistants

Chief Justice Durand told the Utah House that pandemic-era innovations such as virtual hearings and new online services have expanded access to justice across the state but also revealed operational strains that require legislative support.

"Tens of thousands of individuals have been able to fully engage in their court cases by appearing in virtual court without the need to take time off work or interrupt home responsibilities," Durand said, noting that remote appearances have saved travel time and expenses for attorneys, parties and witnesses. He acknowledged, however, that remote proceedings have sometimes slowed when participants experienced Internet or audio/video problems, and that troubleshooting has increased workload for judicial assistants and IT staff.

Durand described several programs the judiciary has rolled out to improve public access and efficiency. He highlighted My Case, a free online portal for parties to view case history and documents, and the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) program—"pajama court"—which allows small-claims litigants to negotiate asynchronously. He said the Self Help Center responded to more than 23,000 contacts statewide in 2021 and that ODR had expanded from a single justice court in February 2018 to 28 justice courts by January 2022.

The chief justice also described a new Office of Fairness and Accountability, created to build public trust and address bias concerns, and an Office of Legal Services Innovation that operates a regulatory "sandbox" to test new service models. "To date, we have approved 31 entities, some owned by nonlawyers," Durand said, citing examples including supervised advocates for domestic-violence victims, brick-and-mortar low-cost access points, and automated document platforms.

Durand asked the legislature to prioritize two budget items. The Judicial Council's top request is $3,900,000 in ongoing funds to raise judicial assistant compensation and reduce an unsustainable turnover rate the address said has climbed to roughly 25 percent. He also asked that prior one‑time IT appropriations totaling $802,000 be converted to ongoing funding to sustain cybersecurity, software licensing and rural courthouse bandwidth improvements.

"Continuing to pay our judicial assistants at rates so significantly below market value ... we need legislative assistance and budget prioritization," Durand said.

Durand urged collaboration with community partners and judicial districts as the courts continue to refine when proceedings should be virtual or in person. He said the judiciary will present details of its budget requests to the appropriations subcommittee and the executive appropriations committee in coming weeks.

The House moved to spread the complete text of Durand's address in the House Journal following his remarks.