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Per-judge retention calls inside
The ballot
Utah judges are appointed, not elected: a nominating commission vets applicants, the governor chooses, and the Senate confirms. Court of Appeals judges first face the voters at the first general election more than three years after appointment, then every six years, in an uncontested nonpartisan retention election. A majority of YES votes retains. The election is November 3, 2026.
Six judges are on the ballot: Michele Christiansen, Gregory K. Orme, David Mortensen, Ryan M. Harris, John Luthy, and Amy Oliver.
The official evidence comes from the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC), which scores each judge out of 20 on legal ability, integrity and judicial temperament, administrative skills and procedural fairness, using surveys, courtroom observation and disciplinary records — and votes on whether the judge meets or exceeds standards. All six judges in this guide were found to meet or exceed standards, each by a 12–0 commission vote. For scale: JPEC recommended against retaining one Utah judge this year — a Weber County justice-court judge scored 13.5 of 20 with a 0–13 commission vote. This commission fails judges when the record warrants it; none of these six records did.
| Judge | On the court since | Appointed by | JPEC score / 20 | Survey respondents recommending retention | Our call | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Michele Christiansen | 2010 | Gov. Gary Herbert | 18.8 | 94% | Retain | | Gregory K. Orme | 1987 | Gov. Norman H. Bangerter | 19.4 | 97% | Retain | | David Mortensen | 2016 | Gov. Gary Herbert | 19.0 | 98% | Retain | | Ryan M. Harris | 2017 | Gov. Gary Herbert | 18.8 | 91% | Retain | | John Luthy | 2022 | Gov. Spencer Cox | 18.5 | 89% | Retain | | Amy Oliver | 2023 | Gov. Spencer Cox | 18.2 | 88% | Retain |
Per-judge notes
Michele Christiansen — Presiding Judge (since 2010). Sixteen years on the Court of Appeals; a judge since 2007, when she joined the 3rd District Court. JPEC: 18.8/20, 94% recommend retention, 12–0. Credit: the Utah State Bar named her its Judge of the Year, announced at the Bar's 2026 Spring Convention, citing her leadership of the court and her work on issues affecting women and children. Retain.
Gregory K. Orme (since January 1987). Thirty-nine years on the bench — one of the seven original judges of the Court of Appeals when the court was created in 1987, and the last of that founding group still serving; the longest-serving appellate judge in Utah. JPEC: 19.4/20 — the highest score on this slate — with 97% recommending retention, 12–0. A judge retained by Utah voters across four decades carries the deepest voter-tested record in this guide. Retain.
David Mortensen (since 2016). Senate confirmed June 2016; ten years on the Court of Appeals and twenty years on the bench in total, after a decade as a 4th District Court trial judge — a trial record the Senate confirmation committee cited in recommending him unanimously. JPEC: 19.0/20, 98% recommend retention — the highest percentage on the slate, 12–0. Retain.
Ryan M. Harris (since 2017). Senate confirmed 23–0. A 3rd District Court trial judge before elevation; in 2022 he was among the finalists interviewed for a Utah Supreme Court vacancy. JPEC: 18.8/20, 91% recommend retention, 12–0. Retain.
John Luthy (since 2022). Senate confirmed October 19, 2022, 25–0. He was the elected Cache County Attorney — the county's prosecutor — when Governor Cox appointed him, and had run unopposed for re-election to that office the same year. JPEC: 18.5/20, 89% recommend retention, 12–0. Retain.
Amy Oliver (since 2023). Appointed January 10, 2023; confirmed February 17, 2023. A judge since 2021, when Governor Cox first appointed her to the 3rd District Court. Before the bench she was an enforcement attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, rising to assistant director of its Salt Lake regional office — a federal enforcement record, then trial court, then this court, in five years. JPEC: 18.2/20, 88% recommend retention, 12–0. Her 18.2 is the slate's lowest score; it is also higher than the score of the one judge JPEC recommended retaining with reservations elsewhere on Utah ballots, and a full 4.7 points above the judge JPEC recommended against. Retain.
Dirt, for the slate as a whole: none documented. The Utah Valley Insider's review of all twelve appellate and Utah County judges on this ballot found no public disciplinary record for any of them, and our research found no organized retain-or-remove campaign against any of the six (the cycle's one organized fight targets Justice Pohlman on the Supreme Court — see that guide). The scores above are printed judge by judge, including the lowest, rather than averaged away.
OUR CALL
Our rule: Retain is the verdict for a judge with a serviceable documented record; removal requires proven cause — documented misconduct, proven activist judging that breaks faith with the law, or an evaluation failure. Six judges, six unanimous 12–0 JPEC passes, scores from 18.2 to 19.4 of 20, retention recommendations from 88% to 98% of surveyed respondents, and an empty adverse column.
Retain: Michele Christiansen, Gregory K. Orme, David Mortensen, Ryan M. Harris, John Luthy, Amy Oliver. Do not retain: none.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website. Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same. --- Sources - Utah Valley Insider, October 21, 2026 — "The Reign of the Judges" (per-judge JPEC scores, retention percentages, 12–0 votes, appointing governors, confirmation votes, Christiansen Judge of the Year, Orme founding-judge record, no disciplinary record for any of the twelve) — https://utahvalleyinsider.com/p/the-reign-of-the-judges-the-retention-votes-on-your-ballot - Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission — judges.utah.gov (official per-judge evaluations and recommendations) — https://judges.utah.gov - Salt Lake Tribune, October 12, 2026 — 57 judges on Utah ballots; JPEC recommended against only one (justice-court) judge — via Alpine Highland Tribune's ballot report — https://alpinehighlandtribune.com/articles/utah-county-ballot-carries-15-plus-races-two-amendments-nov-3-muv8eqy2 - 2026 United States judicial elections (compilation citing Ballotpedia) — roster verification (six Court of Appeals judges) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_judicial_elections
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.