This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A strong argument can be made that it is a bad idea to put a job applicant's gender, race, sexual orientation or other such factor ahead of that person's qualifications for the position. But it is a much worse idea to deny that, in many walks of life, bringing diversity to an otherwise homogenized workplace is a qualification, and an important one at that.

And nowhere is that more true than in government, in the criminal justice system, particularly among a state's judges.

So it is really too bad that the Utah House has approved a bill designed to bar the state's Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice from considering — as it now does — a candidate's gender, race, etc., as a factor when nominating people to become district or appellate judges or justices of the Utah Supreme Court.

The Senate would be well advised to kill this measure. If it doesn't, Gov. Gary Herbert, who relies on the current system to bring him the best candidates, should veto it.

In promoting House Bill 93, Grantsville Republican Rep. Merrill Nelson argues that the CCJJ's current practice of seeking to diversify the Utah bench is wrong, if not outright unconstitutional, because it considers factors other than a candidate's "fitness for office."

But it is Nelson, and the other 46 House members who voted for HB93, who misunderstand.

Today, those who sit in judgment over other Utahns are predominately male and overwhelmingly white. That's not good for a system that presumes to dispense justice to, and holds great power over, a populace that is much more diverse.

Government, the criminal justice system most of all, relies on the public's faith and trust to carry out its responsibilities. There are not enough handcuffs, billy clubs and jail cells in the galaxy to enforce the law without that trust.

One way to build that trust is to take some pains to diversify the faces, the experiences, the backgrounds of the people who enforce that law, on the street and in the courtroom.

It's not that a black defendant can only receive justice from a black judge. It's that judges of all shapes and colors become fuller human beings, and thus better judges, by working in a profession that is itself diverse and welcoming.

Nobody wants a legal system that elevates unqualified minorities or poorly prepared women over scholarly white men. But there is no suggestion that that is what has happened, or will happen, with the current CCJJ criteria in place. Especially when the CCJJ only makes recommendations to the governor, whose appointments are in turn subject to Senate confirmation.

Fears that the current system will dumb down the Utah judiciary are unfounded. The Legislature should leave well enough alone.