Sen. Chris Buttars, who lost his chairmanship of the committee that screens judicial nominees after writing a letter scolding a judge who ruled against the senator's friend, will return to his old post.

"Yes, I am," Buttars, R-West Jordan, said Friday, asked about being named chairman of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee. The change took effect after a confirmation hearing for two nominees on Thursday.

Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, who restored Buttars' chairmanship, would not comment on the change Friday, saying he would announce committee assignments next week.

"I have not released that information. It will be out Monday," Waddoups said.

Buttars was stripped of his chairmanship during the 2008 legislative session by then-President John Valentine, R-Orem, after The Tribune reported a letter that Buttars had written scolding 4th District Judge Derek Pullan

Pullan had ruled against Buttars' friend, Wendell Gibby, in a long-running zoning dispute with Mapleton City. In the letter, written in May 2007 on Senate letterhead, Buttars challenged Pullan's character and integrity.

Buttars called Pullan a "liberal activist judge" and expressed his regrets for having supported Pullan's confirmation.

Valentine had known about the letter and suggested changes as Buttars was writing it. But he replaced Buttars as chairman after the letter became public, saying it could call into question the integrity of the Senate's judicial screening process.

Buttars was also a vocal critic of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s nomination of 3rd District Judge Robert Hilder to the appeals court, which was ultimately voted down by the Senate.

Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, who had chaired the committee, was given a send-off by Waddoups, who is a member of the confirmation committee, at the end of the panel's Thursday meeting.

As chairman of the separate Senate Judiciary Committee, Buttars is guaranteed a spot on the confirmation committee, as is the chairman of the Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, a spot now held by Sen. John Greiner, the Ogden Police Chief.

"The president picked a new chair and I'm no longer on" the committee, Bell said.

Waddoups said that he only wanted one attorney on the committee and he had to choose between Bell and Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan. Hillyard had more seniority in the Senate, Waddoups said, and got the spot.

The Utah Bar Association expressed its concern last year, after Buttars' letter to Pullan became public, saying it was an improper attempt to sway the judge. But on Friday, the association's new president, Nathan Alder, said he was not concerned about Buttars' return.

"Senator Buttars has had a long interest in judicial issues and sponsored legislation regarding judicial performance," he said. "We look forward to working with him as chair of the judicial confirmation committee."

"I think we have confidence in the Senate leadership," said John Baldwin, executive director of the Utah Bar Association. "Regardless of the personalities involved, we believe in the assurances we've gotten that the process will be fair. We'll trust that and see how it works out."

Buttars said he had served as chairman of the confirmation committee for five years without any complaints before the news of the Pullan letter became public, and that he has a good relationship with representatives from the Utah Bar Association.

"Most of those guys and I are good friends," Buttars said.

-- Tribune reporter Cathy McKitrick contributed to this story.