Saratoga Springs appoints new justice court judge

Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love has appointed Carolyn E. Howard to fill her city's justice court vacancy, replacing Judge Keith Stoney.

Howard has worked at the law office of Bartholomew Silva & Associates since 2007. The BYU graduate is also a trained mediator and a tenured associate professor in the Legal Studies Department at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Her appointment to the bench is subject to completion of orientation and Utah Judicial Council certification.

Stoney retired on Dec. 31. He announced his retirement in September amid a flurry of complaints, including that he had wrongfully jailed a woman for recording part of a hearing in 2010.

The Utah Judicial Conduct Commission reprimanded Stoney after he appeared to issue an excessive $10,000 cash-only warrant against a woman cited for a traffic violation, possibly because she was rude to court clerks. But the Utah Supreme Court reversed that punishment in September, ruling there was no evidence of retribution or excessive bail amounts. Stoney said the warrant amount was a mistake.

mmcfall@sltrib.com

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