Judge Ronald Kunz is an experienced judge who scores consistent with the average of his justice court peers in all survey categories. Survey respondents generally praise Judge Kunz as fair, efficient, and knowledgeable, describing his demeanor as both confident and polite. From a list, respondents choose 89% positive adjectives to describe him. Courtroom observers view Judge Kunz as an effective communicator who seeks the views of all participants and who uses understandable language to explain his decisions. All observers report that they would feel comfortable appearing before him in court. Of 45 survey respondents answering the retention question, 37 (82%) recommend that Judge Kunz be retained.
The commission reviewed surveys and courtroom observation reports in addition to verifying that Judge Kunz has met all time standards, judicial education requirements, and discipline standards established by the judicial branch.
Judge Ronald E. Kunz was appointed as the West Jordan City Justice Court Judge in 1990. He earned his law degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1979. As a general law practitioner for 11 years, he handled a wide variety of cases in state and federal court. Judge Kunz served as a contract legal defender for the Third Circuit Court and the City of West Jordan. As a judge, he served on two committees to improve the state’s trial-by-jury system. For proactively implementing domestic violence programs in the West Jordan Justice Court, Judge Kunz received the 2006 Freedom Award from the Salt Lake Area Domestic Violence Coalition and the 2008 Advocate of the Year Award from the Utah Domestic Violence Council.