Utah Court of Appeals Judge Michele M. Christiansen Forster is on the ballot Nov. 3 for a nonpartisan retention vote. Voters in Alpine, Highland, Cedar Hills, Lehi and across Utah County will see the race on their ballots.
In a retention election, no challenger appears. Voters mark "yes" to keep the judge on the bench or "no" to remove her. If a majority votes "no," the governor appoints a replacement through the state's judicial nominating process.
Governor Gary Herbert appointed Christiansen Forster to the Utah Court of Appeals in June 2010, according to her biography on the Utah Courts website. She has served on the court since June 2010.
Candidate information
- Office sought: Utah Court of Appeals (retention)
- Election: Nov. 3, 2026, Utah General Election
- Party: Nonpartisan
- Education: Bachelor's degree in history, Lawrence University; juris doctor, University of Utah (1995)
Experience and public service
Christiansen Forster's career spans private practice, federal prosecution, state government and the bench.
After earning her law degree, she worked as an attorney at Parsons Behle & Latimer from 1995 to 1998, according to the Utah Courts biography. She also served as a law clerk for Judge Tena Campbell, according to BallotReady profile data.
She then spent nearly seven years as an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah, from March 1998 to January 2005. She left that post to become executive director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, serving from January 2005 to July 2006.
Christiansen Forster served as general counsel in the Office of Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr. from July 2006 to May 2007. She then served on the Utah Third District Court from May 2007 to June 2010, before her appointment to the Court of Appeals.
She also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, according to the law school's faculty directory.
