Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant has been elected president of the Conference of Chief Justices by a vote of his fellow chief justices in state courts nationwide. Chief Justice Durrant will serve as president for a one-year term beginning on August 8, 2024. He succeeds Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, who served as president for the past year.
“I am honored to serve as president of the Conference of Chief Justices as we continue to improve the critical work of administering justice in state courts,” said Chief Justice Durrant in a statement.
The Conference of Chief Justices was founded in 1949 to provide an opportunity for the highest judicial officers of the states to discuss matters of importance to the organization and operation of state courts, and to promote the vitality, independence, and effectiveness of state judicial systems. Membership in the Conference consists of the highest judicial officer from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
Chief Justice Durrant was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court in January 2000 by Governor Michael O. Leavitt. He has served as Chief Justice since 2012. Before his appointment to the Utah Supreme Court, he served as a trial judge in the Third Judicial District. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1984.