West Jordan City v. Goodman

PARRISH, Justice:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1 After the West Jordan Justice Court convicted Christopher Goodman of two misdemeanor charges, Goodman exercised his statutory right to a trial de novo in the district court. 1 There, Goodman raised a constitutional challenge to the statutory scheme authorizing municipal justice courts, 2 arguing that it violates the separation of powers principles of the Utah Constitution. 3 Goodman also argued that municipal court judges are biased and have an impermissible conflict of interest because they are employed and controlled by the municipalities that benefit from…