Paige Petersen (born 1972) is an American lawyer and judge, who is a justice of the

Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice, ...

. She previously served as a Utah District Court judge from 2015 to 2017.

Education and early career

Petersen was born in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1972, but grew up in

Emery County, Utah Emery County is a county in east-central Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 10,976. Its county seat is Castle Dale, and the largest city is Huntington. History Prehistory Occupation of the San Rafael ...

. She graduated from Carbon High School in

Price, Utah Price is a city in the U.S. state of Utah and the county seat of Carbon County, Utah, Carbon County. The city is home to Utah State University Eastern, as well as the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum. Price is located within short distances of both ...

. She completed an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

at the

College of Eastern Utah Utah State University Eastern (USU Eastern) is a public regional college within the Utah State Universitybr>system The USU Eastern campus is located in Price, Utah, United States. Founded as Carbon College in 1937, the college joined the Universi ...

, and a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

in 1995, where she majored in political science and English. Petersen was an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

in 1995–1996. She completed her J.D. degree at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

in 1999. Petersen clerked for federal judge

Susan Dlott Susan J. Dlott (born September 11, 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Early life and education Dlott was born in Dayton, Ohio, on September 11, 1949, to Jewish ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (in case citations, S.D. Ohio) is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties–everything from the Columbus are ...

in 1999–2001, and was an

associate attorney An associate attorney is a lawyer and an employee of a law firm who does not hold an ownership interest as a partner. Types Practicing attorney An associate may be a junior or senior attorney, but normally does not hold an ownership interest in t ...

for the law firm

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is an international white shoe law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm specializes in litigation and corporate practices, particularly mergers and acquisitions, with over 1,000 attorneys in 11 offices worl ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from 2001 to 2003. She worked as an

Assistant U.S. Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the

Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, Su ...

from 2003 to 2008. Petersen then spent two years in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

working as a prosecutor at the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

. In 2012, Petersen moved back to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and worked for the office of the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the

District of Utah During the American Civil War in the early 1860s, the District of Utah was a subordinate district of the U.S. Army's Department of the Pacific. The district was composed of territorial areas that later became parts of the modern U.S. states of Ida ...

Judicial career

The

Governor of Utah A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Gary Herbert Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle. Herbert w ...

appointed Petersen as a state judge in March 2015, serving on the Utah District Court for the Third Judicial District, which covers three counties:

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

, and

Tooele Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Army ...

. In May 2017,

justice

Christine Durham Christine Meaders Durham (born August 3, 1945) is an American lawyer and judge, who served as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 1982 to 2017, including service as chief justice from 2002 to 2012. Early life and education Durham is the olde ...

announced that she would retire in November 2017. Utah's

Judicial nominating commission A judicial nominating commission (also judicial nominating committee, judicial nominating board) in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments. Ju ...

announced seven possible candidates for the Supreme Court vacancy in September 2017, including Petersen, three other state judges, and three other lawyers.

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...

announced Petersen as his choice to replace Durham on October 31, 2017. She was confirmed by the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of senate districts. Each senate district is ...

on November 15, 2017. Petersen began her service as a justice of the

in December 2017. Her current term ends on January 1, 2023, and she must stand in a

retention election A judicial retention election (or retention referendum) is a periodic process in some jurisdictions whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are ...

in 2022 in order to remain in office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Paige 1972 births Living people Justices of the Utah Supreme Court University of Utah alumni Yale Law School alumni Utah state court judges Simpson Thacher & Bartlett associates 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges