COBI 2015 - Supreme Court

Overview
Issues
Performance
Background
Financials

Sources Uses

FY 2016 Appropriation

The Utah Supreme Court is the highest state court and, as such, the court of last appeal in Utah. The Supreme Court is located in the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse. The Court hears appeals from capital and first degree felony cases and all District Court civil cases except for cases regarding domestic relations. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over judgments of the Court of Appeals by writ of certiorari, constitutional and election questions, proceedings of the Judicial Conduct Commission, and lawyer discipline.

Five justices sit on the Supreme Court for ten-year renewable terms. The justices elect a chief justice by majority vote to serve for four years, and an associate chief justice to serve for two years.

Funding History

Appropriation Overview

During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $3,053,000 from all sources for Supreme Court. This is a 3.5 percent increase from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $3,044,900 from the General/Education Funds, an increase of 3.5 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.

The Supreme Court is guided by various performance measures. One primary metric used to measure performance is the clearance rate - the number of cases processed versus the number of new cases that are submitted to the Court. Below is the clearance rate reported annually which shows a rate above 100% since CY 2008.

Statute

The Utah Supreme Court is established by the Utah State Constitution Article VIII, Sections 1 through 4 and the following sections of the Utah Code:

UCA 67-8 (1 through 6) defines judicial salaries and compensation, and
UCA 78A-2-104 et seq. outlines the make-up and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to answer questions of state law certified from Federal Courts and to issue extraordinary writs. The Supreme Court reviews formal administrative proceedings of the Public Service Commission, Tax Commission, School and Institutional Trust Lands Board of Trustees, Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining, and the State Engineer.

The court adopts rules of civil and criminal procedure and rules of evidence used in state courts. The Supreme Court manages the appellate process and governs the practice of law, including admissions to practice law.

Justices are assisted by law clerks, staff attorneys, a clerk of the court, and a staff of legal secretaries and deputy court clerks. Staff attorneys screen the cases and the Appellate Court Administrator is responsible for the court operations.

Intent Language

HB0003: Item 20

Under Section 63J-1-603 of the Utah Code, the Legislature intends that the appropriations provided for in the Administration line item not lapse at the close of Fiscal Year 2015.

SB0002: Item 16

Under provisions of Section 67-8-2, Utah Code Annotated, salaries for District Court judges for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016 shall be $150,000. Other judicial salaries shall be calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in Section 67-8-2 and rounded to the nearest $50.

SB0003: Item 55

Notwithstanding the judicial salary rate set in Senate Bill 2 Item 16, under provisions of Section 67-8-2, Utah Code Annotated, the new salary for District Court judges for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016 shall be $152,850. Other judicial salaries shall be calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in Section 67-8-2 and rounded to the nearest $50.

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Funding Source

Expenditure Category

Appropriation Type:

Appropriation History by

Sources of Finance	FY11 Actual	FY12 Actual	FY13 Actual	FY14 Actual	FY15 Approp	FY15 Change	FY15 Revised	FY16 Change	FY16 Approp
General Fund	2,608,300	2,448,600	2,537,400	2,625,400	2,751,300	184,100	2,935,400	81,300	3,016,700
General Fund, One-time	0	0	0	2,600	5,300	300	5,600	22,600	28,200
Dedicated Credits Revenue	0	0	0	0	8,100	0	8,100	0	8,100
Beginning Nonlapsing	0	0	0	0	0	2,000	2,000	(2,000)	0
Closing Nonlapsing	(165,000)	(4,200)	(49,400)	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	$2,443,300	$2,444,400	$2,488,000	$2,628,000	$2,764,700	$186,400	$2,951,100	$101,900	$3,053,000

Categories of Expenditure	FY11 Actual	FY12 Actual	FY13 Actual	FY14 Actual	FY15 Approp	FY15 Change	FY15 Revised	FY16 Change	FY16 Approp
Personnel Services	2,367,600	2,377,300	2,421,500	2,578,000	2,711,000	180,600	2,891,600	103,900	2,995,500
In-state Travel	100	0	1,700	200	900	1,500	2,400	0	2,400
Out-of-state Travel	1,900	2,300	1,400	1,600	2,500	1,400	3,900	0	3,900
Current Expense	68,600	57,500	53,800	45,300	50,300	2,900	53,200	(2,000)	51,200
DP Current Expense	5,100	7,300	9,600	2,900	0	0	0	0	0
Total	$2,443,300	$2,444,400	$2,488,000	$2,628,000	$2,764,700	$186,400	$2,951,100	$101,900	$3,053,000

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Other Indicators	FY11 Actual	FY12 Actual	FY13 Actual	FY14 Actual	FY15 Approp	FY15 Change	FY15 Revised	FY16 Change	FY16 Approp
Budgeted FTE	26.60	25	25	25	25	0	25	0	25
Actual FTE	19.90	19.80	19.20	19.80	0	0	0	0	0

COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.