JUDGE RICHARD PEHRSON
Judge Richard Pehrson was appointed to the Third District Court in May of 2024 by Governor Spencer Cox. He serves Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties. Prior to his appointment, Judge Pehrson served as the Homicide Subject Matter Expert in the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, where he specialized in cases involving murder, kidnapping, and gang violence. Judge Pehrson loves teaching and actively taught at three different Police Officer Training (POST) Academies. For years, Judge Pehrson also enjoyed teaching the Citizenship and Naturalization classes at Unity in the CommUnity, a local nonprofit focused on helping refugee and immigrant families. The year before his appointment to the bench, he was in trial for more than 30 cumulative days successfully trying five homicide jury trials to verdict. Judge Pehrson has been a member of the Model Utah Jury Instruction (MUJI) Committee and is serving on the Supreme Court's Jury Equity Project Committee - his work on both committees centered on ensuring just and fair trials for all of Utah’s citizens.
Judge Pehrson received his bachelor's degree from the University of Utah and his law degree from George Mason University in the Washington DC metro area. Judge Pehrson was awarded the Call to Service award personally from the President of the United States and was named Utah’s 'Presidential Greeter' - later attending a reception at the White House for national recipients