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John Pearce was sworn in as a justice on the Utah Supreme Court on Friday and praised for his intellect, as well as his willingness to listen to all sides in a debate.

"He's a brilliant man ... yet he has genuine humility," said Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, who administered the oath at a ceremony at the court.

Gov. Gary Herbert — who nominated Pearce for a spot on the high court — said the new justice is smart, hardworking, thoughtful, fair, humble and dedicated to the rule of law.

"He's accomplished great things in his life," Herbert said, adding he expects Pearce's accomplishments will continue.

Pearce, who noted that he's the first lawyer in his family, said he's been blessed to have mentors in the legal field.

He quoted 19th century novelist Gustave Flaubert in his remarks — "Words are drums that we are going to make the bears dance to when we long to move the stars to tears" — and said later Friday that it was a way to express the "complex mix of humility and gratitude and excitement" he was feeling.

And Pearce said it's important to never forget there are people behind the cases that come before the courts.

"I will do my very best to uphold the oath I've taken today," he said.

Pearce, 46, then a Utah Court of Appeals judge, was nominated in November to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Justice Jill Parrish, who is now a federal judge. He was appointed to the appeals court by the governor in October 2013.

Before joining the appeals court, Pearce was an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, Calif., and a shareholder at Jones Waldo in Salt Lake City. He served as general counsel to Herbert from 2009 until he was appointed to the appeals-court bench. He is an adjunct professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.

Pearce graduated from Cyprus High in Magna, earned a degree in economics from the University of Utah and received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

He is married to Jennifer Napier-Pearce, who works for The Salt Lake Tribune and hosts Trib Talk. They have two sons, Ben and Jonas.

pmanson@sltrib.com

Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC