Second District Court Judge Jennifer L. Valencia faces a retention vote on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Valencia serves Davis, Morgan and Weber counties and is assigned to the Farmington courthouse in Davis County.
The nonpartisan race asks voters a single question: whether to retain Valencia on the bench. Governor Gary R. Herbert appointed her to the Second District Court in May 2017, making her the first female judge appointed by a governor to that court, according to the Standard-Examiner. She is one of several judges appearing on the Davis County retention ballot this cycle.
Candidate information
- Name: Jennifer L. Valencia
- Office: Utah District Court Judge, District 2
- Counties served: Davis, Morgan and Weber
- Current assignment: Farmington courthouse, Davis County
- Appointed: May 2017 by Governor Gary R. Herbert
- Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, Weber State University (1994), magna cum laude with departmental honors on a Presidential Scholarship; juris doctor, University of Utah (1997)
Experience and public service
Before taking the bench, Valencia spent two decades in public legal work across state and county offices.
She served as an assistant Utah attorney general in the Northern Region of the Child and Family Support Division from 1997 to 2008, according to Utah Policy. She then worked as a deputy district attorney in Salt Lake County from 2008 to 2013, according to the same report.
Valencia served as director of the Utah Sentencing Commission from 2013 until her appointment to the bench in 2017.
On the court, Valencia has held several specialized roles. She serves as the designated statewide water judge and has served as supervising water judge and drug court judge, according to her biography on the Utah State Courts website. She also chairs the Utah Uniform Fine Committee.
Outside the courtroom, Valencia teaches as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law, according to the law school's faculty directory.
Her educational background is rooted in northern Utah. Valencia attended Weber State University on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with departmental honors in political science in 1994, according to the Utah State Courts. She earned her juris doctor from the University of Utah in 1997.
This profile was compiled from publicly available sources including the Utah State Courts, Utah Policy, the Standard-Examiner and BallotReady. The Bountiful-Farmington Record is publishing profiles of judges on the Nov. 3 retention ballot in Davis County.
