Brook Sessions Reprimanded

The Utah Supreme Court approved a public reprimand against Wasatch County and Lindon City Justice Court Judge Brook Sessions for driving under the influence and inattentive driving. Idaho State Police reported the underlying incident to Utah's Judicial Conduct Commission after charging Sessions with DUI in Idaho on February 26, 2022. The Commission found Sessions' conduct violated the Code of Judicial Conduct's requirements that a judge comply with the law and not undermine public confidence in the judiciary's independence, integrity, and impartiality.

The Supreme Court's decision to approve only a reprimand wasn't unanimous: Associate Chief Justice John A. Pearce dissented, writing that a public reprimand was too lenient a sanction and that he would have imposed a 30-day unpaid suspension instead.

A sitting judge driving drunk is, on its own, the same category of conduct the office exists to hold others accountable for — and one of the Utah Supreme Court's own justices thought the sanction his colleagues chose didn't go far enough.