Tongan lawyer Lance Talakai has been appointed by Utah Governor Spencer Cox to serve as a judge of the state’s Third District Juvenile Court.
Talakai’s appointment carries particular significance for Utah’s Tongan community. The Third District includes Salt Lake County, which the 2020 United States Census recorded as having 12,859 people identifying as Tongan alone or in combination — the largest Tongan population of any county in the United States.
The Third District Juvenile Court is a major part of Utah’s state judiciary, serving Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties and dealing with cases ranging from serious youth offending to child abuse, neglect, custody and other matters affecting vulnerable children and families.
Talakai was selected to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge David Johnson, after being among five candidates nominated for the position by the Third District Judicial Nominating Commission. His appointment is subject to confirmation by the Utah Senate.
Governor Cox said Talakai’s extensive courtroom experience, including his work on serious youth offender cases, would be valuable to Utah families.
“Lance has spent his career serving people at some of the most consequential moments of their lives,” Cox said in announcing the appointment.
Talakai has spent the past 14 years as a defence attorney with the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, where he has represented people facing felony and misdemeanor charges as well as serious youth offender cases.
His experience has also included leadership positions as a felony team leader and co-misdemeanor chief, along with recruiting, training and supervising new lawyers.
Talakai said he was deeply humbled by the appointment and particularly grateful for the opportunity to serve the district where he grew up.
He said that, if confirmed, he would carry out the judicial role with compassion, fairness, integrity and humility, while ensuring young people and families appearing before the court were treated with dignity and respect.
Before joining the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association in 2012, Talakai worked with the Utah County Public Defender and served as a law clerk for Utah’s Fourth District Court.
He holds a law degree from Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.
The Utah Senate subsequently sought public submissions on Talakai’s appointment, with its Judicial Confirmation Committee scheduled to consider his nomination before making a recommendation to the full Senate.
The committee formally considered Talakai’s appointment at its September 11 meeting as part of the Senate confirmation process.
