Utah Supreme Court justice resigns after allegations of relationship with lawyer linked to election case

Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen resigned Friday amid the scrutiny she has been facing in recent weeks over allegations related to an alleged personal relationship with an attorney linked to a high-profile redistricting case. "As a public servant for twenty-six years, I am keenly aware that public service requires sacrifice. I have willingly accepted those sacrifices for the privilege of holding a position of public trust, where I could do my part to uphold the rule of law and protect the constitutional rights of every Utahn," Hagen said in her resignation letter, first obtained by Fox News.

In that document, the judge added: "I also understand that public officials are rightly held to a higher standard and must accept a greater degree of public scrutiny and diminished privacy. But my family and friends did not choose public life. They do not deserve to have intensely personal details surrounding the painful dissolution of my thirty-year marriage subjected to public scrutiny."

The controversy began after Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox last month called for opening an independent investigation into the judge following allegations that she may have had an inappropriate relationship with a lawyer linked to a major redistricting case. Along with Cox, several Utah lawmakers also called for the opening of the investigation following allegations raised by the judge's ex-husband, who went so far as to claim that Hagen had sent "inappropriate" text messages to attorney David Reymann, who was part of a unanimous Utah Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 that overturned a Republican-backed congressional map, winning a seat for Democrats.

The allegations arose through a formal complaint filed by an attorney representing Hagen's husband with Chief Justice Matthew Durrant and the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct. While both the judge and Reymann have denied any wrongdoing, the commission reviewed the complaint and decided not to move forward with further action after a preliminary investigation. According to local reports, the investigation determined that Hagen and her husband began discussing divorce in September 2024 and that, while the two had related interactions with Reymann later that year, the judge did not meet alone with the attorney until 2025.