Judge Matthew Bates faces Millcreek-area retention vote Nov. 3

Millcreek voters will decide whether to retain Third District Court Judge Matthew D. Bates on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Bates has served on the bench for more than a decade, since Governor Gary R. Herbert appointed him in July 2016. He was selected from a pool of five nominees to fill a vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Charlene Barlow, according to KPCW. The Utah Senate confirmed his appointment by a unanimous vote.

The retention question is nonpartisan. Voters will be asked whether Bates should continue serving on the Third District Court, which covers Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, according to his official Utah Courts biography. Millcreek falls within the court's Salt Lake County jurisdiction.

Candidate information

Name: Matthew D. Bates
Office: Utah Third District Court judge
Counties served: Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele
Education: juris doctor, Brigham Young University, 2003
Appointed: July 2016 by Governor Gary R. Herbert

Experience and public service

Bates built a career in prosecution and state legal work before joining the bench. He first served in the litigation and criminal appeals divisions at the Utah Attorney General's Office, according to his BallotReady profile.

He moved to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, where he worked as a prosecutor from 2008 to 2011, according to KPCW.

Bates then became chief prosecutor at the Summit County Attorney's Office. In that role he helped establish the county's drug court program and worked with the Summit County Sheriff's Office and others on the state's Justice Reinvestment Initiative, according to the Park Record.

Herbert appointed Bates to the Third District Court in July 2016. He has served continuously since then.