On May 8, Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen resigned, marking another structural change within the Court.
Hagan’s resignation comes after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed a bill on Jan. 31 to increase the number of justices on the Court from five to seven — making Utah the first state since 2016 to expand its state supreme court. Utah is now one of 29 states to have a state supreme court with seven justices. Among all states, seven is the most common number of justices for a state supreme court.
Deseret News’ Brigham Tomco wrote that the bill “coincides with an increase in workload for Utah’s highest courts, and intends to speed up decisions, according to legislative leadership. It also comes amid Republican frustration over recent rulings that have stalled legislation and scrapped legal precedent.”