Commissioner Julie Winkler
See how to properly and efficiently work with Commissioner Winkler and her team with this free informal bench book, created with information provided by the Commissioner and their clerks.
District Court
Courtroom Number
Commissioner Bio
"Commissioner Julie Winkler was appointed as Second District Court Commissioner in February 2022. She primarily serves Davis, Morgan and Weber counties. Commissioner Winkler earned her law degree from Gonzaga University and went on to receive an LLM in Taxation from the University of Washington. Prior to joining the bench, Commissioner Winkler spent 13 years at Utah Legal Services as a domestic attorney, serving her final 7 years as Domestic Task Force chair. During her time at Utah Legal Services, Commissioner Winkler handled parentage and divorce cases, modification cases, protective orders and stalking injunctions. She is currently a member of the American Bar Association and serves as an ex-officio board member for the Utah chapter of Association of Family and Conciliation Courts."
From Utah State Courts | Last updated 3/2023
Typical Hearing Schedule
- Monday AM, Tuesday AM and Thursday AM are motion hearings
- Monday PM is CMC or Morgan county calendar
- Tuesday PM pretrial hearings
- Wednesday AM is protective orders
- Wednesday PM is TRO's, review and telephone hearings
- Thursday PM is either evidentiary hearings or ORS calendar
- Friday AM is CESC, informal and evidentiary hearings
Typical Time Allotment by Hearing Type
- Generally, motion for temporary orders get set for at least 30 minutes, all other motions, review and telephone hearings range from 15-30 minutes
- PO's are all scheduled at the same time; pretrial hearings are all scheduled at the same time and could be up to 12
- CMCs are scheduled in 30 minute increments and up to 6 during a 30 minute block
- Evidentiary hearings and informal trials get a half day, Commissioner will consider a special place setting for relocation hearings that require evidence generally for 2 hour blocks
Hearings Where Parties are Not Required to Personally Attend
- Pretrial Hearings
- CMCs
Hearing Types: In-person vs. Remote
- CMCs, pretrial hearings and review hearings are all held virtually, all other hearings are scheduled for in person
Timeline for Virtual Link or Call Information
JA generally does the next week on Wednesday so could a week or more depending on where the hearing falls. It will be shorter if the request to appear virtually is granted closer to the hearing date.
Motion to Appear Remotely Circumstances
Party/attorney must demonstrate good cause in order for the Commissioner to grant the request to appear virtually. An example would be a party that resides in a different state, however this would not apply to an attorney, the attorney is expected to be in person unless they themselves have good cause and residing out of state for the attorney would not be considered good cause as they know where the case is when they accepted representation for the party.
Matters [besides those listed in Rule 101(m)] Scheduled in front of a Judge without Commissioner Review
If there is a dispute over final documents that are a result from a trial or the Judge has previously ruled all hearings go directly to the Judge
"Expedited" Hearing Circumstances
With the exception of TRO's and PO's the only circumstance that would warrant an expedited hearing would be one in which the Commissioner at a previous hearing informed the parties they could request an expedited hearing on a certain issue.
Preferred Exhibit Submission Method
Commissioner Winkler prefers a physical binder with exhibits and if you are utilizing rule 101(h)(3), as you should, you must bring copies to the hearing DO NOT efile them.
Review Hearing or Status Conference Requests
By motion.
Pretrial and Trial Scheduling
CMCs designate when pretrial hearings are which can easily be changed by emailing Commissioner Team. If it is a case that predates CMC then a request for pretrial should be filed and then a hearing date can be set.
Commissioner Preferences or Requests
- Please arrive on time for court; if unforeseen circumstances delay you/your client, please notify Commissioner Winkler's team. She generally gives 15 minutes for a party/attorney to arrive.
- Please talk with opposing counsel prior to the hearing to see what issues can be settled.
- Be courteous to opposing counsel in the courtroom; Commissioner Winkler expects you to be professional and civil. Leave the snide comments for outside the courtroom, they are never persuasive.
- Commissioner Winkler stops reviewing pleadings at the 25 page limit; the 25 page limit is PER HEARING not per motion.
- Do NOT eFile exhibits if you are utilizing Rule 101(h)(3) but bring them to court, as the rule requires.
- Be nice to the team- they are human beings who are doing their absolute best within the confines of a very structured system.
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