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Read Justice Diana Hagen’s letter resigning from the Utah Supreme Court

Amid an investigation threat and a campaign to vote her off the bench, Hagen said she stepped down to protect her family’s privacy and the independence of the court.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Court of Appeals Judge Diana Hagen, center, thanks Gov. Spencer Cox for nominating her to serve as a Utah Supreme Court Justice during a press conference at the Capitol, March 29, 2022.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Court of Appeals Judge Diana Hagen, center, thanks Gov. Spencer Cox for nominating her to serve as a Utah Supreme Court Justice during a press conference at the Capitol, March 29, 2022.

By https://author-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/sltrib/018796ae-a238-4261-8b37-b91a265f498b.png Robert Gehrke
 | May 8, 2026, 2:10 p.m.

Justice Diana Hagen has resigned from the Utah Supreme Court.

On Friday, amid the threat of an investigation by state leaders and a Republican campaign to vote her off the bench, Hagen wrote in a letter to the governor to say she was stepping down.

“I would love nothing more than to continue serving the people of Utah as a Supreme Court Justice,” Hagen wrote to the governor, “but I cannot do so without sacrificing the privacy and well-being of those I care about and the effective functioning and independence of Utah’s judiciary.”

A Cox appointee, Hagen has served on the high court since March 2022 and for five years prior to that on the Utah Court of Appeals.

Below is the text of her letter of resignation:

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