Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen on Friday submitted her resignation to Governor Spencer Cox, effective immediately. The resignation comes amid a probe into an alleged relationship with an attorney who worked on a redistricting lawsuit, which netted Democrats a projected U.S. House seat under controversial circumstances.
In her letter, Hagen stated that she tendered her resignation “with deep sadness” and expressed “profound love and respect” for her fellow justices. She noted regret for the disruption her departure would cause the court and parties before it.
Hagen further wrote that she would “love nothing more” than to continue serving but concluded she could not do so without sacrificing the privacy of family and friends or the independence of the court. She emphasized that public officials accept greater scrutiny, but her family and friends “did not choose public life” and should not face public examination of personal matters tied to the dissolution of her marriage.
The judge’s resignation followed months of public attention on allegations first raised in a December 2025 ethics complaint. The complaint, which was filed by attorney Michael Worley with the Judicial Conduct Commission and Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, stemmed from information provided by Hagen’s ex-husband, Tobin Hagen.
It alleged an improper personal relationship between Justice Hagen and attorney David Reymann, who represented plaintiffs including the League of Women Voters of Utah in a high-profile congressional redistricting lawsuit. The complaint further referenced claimed text messages and suggested the relationship could have influenced her judicial actions.
Investigators then reviewed the complaint and supporting materials, including statements from Tobin Hagen, and determined there was insufficient evidence of judicial misconduct. The report described the allegations as “speculative, overstated, and misleading” with “very little credibility.”
🚨New: The Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen has now resigned
She voted for the new Utah congressional map that gave Democrats an extra seat
The reason for her resignation is she allegedly had a romantic relationship with an attorney involved in the redistricting case pic.twitter.com/Uf9FIe0aVd
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) May 8, 2026
In April 2026, however, after the preliminary report was released publicly through an open records request, Governor Cox and Republican legislative leaders described the allegations as serious and called for an independent investigation. Following Hagen’s resignation, legislative leaders stated that the matter concerning her was concluded and no further investigation would proceed.
The allegations related to the case League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature, a redistricting case that made its way to the Utah Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. In October 2024, she authored a unanimous opinion striking down a proposed constitutional amendment on ballot language grounds
In November 2025, the court adopted a remedial map proposed by plaintiffs that kept Salt Lake County largely intact in one district, resulting in a configuration with one Democrati-leaning seat in a state previously represented by four Republicans. The Utah Supreme Court dismissed the Legislature’s appeal on procedural grounds on February 20, 2026.
A federal court also declined to block the map, leaving it in place for the 2026 elections.
Hagen had recused from further redistricting proceedings after spring 2025. The Supreme Court’s key rulings in the case were unanimous, and the final map selection and procedural dismissal occurred after her recusal
