Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen announced her resignation Friday amid a probe of potential unethical relations with an attorney who argued cases, including a redistricting case, before the state’s high court on which she served.
The allegations against the Utah high court judge are detailed in a complaint submitted late last year to both Chief Justice Matthew Durrant and the Judicial Conduct Commission, local KSL TV reports:
“The resignation follows a KSL report about a complaint against Hagen, submitted to the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission, alleging she had an improper relationship with an attorney who argued cases before the court. The attorney represented several plaintiffs in the high-profile case over Utah’s redistricting maps, which led to a new congressional map being adopted last November.
“Hagen submitted a letter of resignation to Gov. Spencer Cox, stating that she is stepping down from the high court, effective immediately, according to a press release from the governor’s office.”
Last month, KSL TV broke the news of the scandal and Republican lawmakers’ plans to investigate:
“The allegations originally come from Hagen's ex-husband, Tobin Hagen, who said he suspected the justice began having an inappropriate relationship with Reymann, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit over Utah's redistricting maps.
“Tobin Hagen allegedly described the circumstances surrounding his divorce proceedings to another attorney, including allegations that Diana Hagen had exchanged text messages with Reymann, which Tobin Hagen said began as ‘silly’ and then became ‘more suggestive.’”
