Judge William A. Thorne
Judge Thorne, a graduate of Stanford Law School, was appointed as judge of the Third Judicial District Court by the Governor of Utah in 1994. His court is one of general jurisdiction, handling both civil and criminal matters. He formerly served as special juvenile judge as a part of the state's Permanency Project, a short term measure to eliminate the back-log of cases in which children had been in foster care for longer than eighteen months. Judge Thorne, a Pomo Indian, has also served as a judge of civil and criminal trials for tribal courts in Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado, and he continues to serve as a tribal court judge in complex cases. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association and the National Indian Justice Center. He serves on the Indian Child Welfare Task Force of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Utah State Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Court System, and the Court Improvement Project for the Utah Juvenile Court. He also provides training to judges, attorneys, social workers and other professionals on the Indian Child Welfare Act.
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