Cox picks Hagen for Utah Supreme Court
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Gov. Spencer Cox appointed Judge Diana Hagen to the Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Hagen was named to the Utah Court of Appeals in June 2017 and serves as chair of the Supreme Court OPC Oversight Committee.
The Utah Senate must confirm the governor’s nomination for the decision to be final.
“Judge Hagen’s distinguished career as an appellate court judge and federal prosecutor as well as her leadership and service in numerous professional and community groups have well prepared her for this moment,” Cox said. “We are delighted she is willing to take on a new challenge and know she will serve the people of Utah with integrity.”
Hagen is an Ogden native and lives there with her husband and two children. She earned her law degree from the University of Utah in 1998 and was an adjunct professor there, according to a news release.
Cox said he interviewed seven candidates and took time considering their opinions before making his final selection.
The Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission’s 2020 report on Hagen said she scored “statistically above the average of her appellate court peers on integrity and judicial temperament and consistent with her peers on all other scored minimum performance standards.”
The report went on to describe Hagen’s approach to legal analysis as “comprehensive.” It also said her conduct in court was found to promote “procedural fairness for court participants.”
Hagen previously worked as an attorney for the District of Utah, where she served as the chief of the appellate section for almost a decade, a news release said. She has spent 17 years as a federal prosecutor and handled hundreds of appeals and several high-profile trials, including the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case and the murder of Millard County Sheriff’s Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox, according to a news release.
Among the honors Hagen has received are the Federal Bar Association Distinguished Service Award, four United States Attorney’s Awards and a Federal Bureau of Investigation Award, according to the governor’s office.
“I am grateful to Gov. Cox for the confidence he has placed in me and especially honored to have been selected from an outstanding group of nominees,” Hagen said in a news release. “I am mindful of the great responsibility and public trust that comes with this appointment. If confirmed by the Utah Senate, I will work hard to be deserving of that trust.”
This article was originally posted on Cox picks Hagen for Utah Supreme Court
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