Utah Court of Appeals Judge Michele M. Christiansen Forster is on the Nov. 3 general election ballot for a retention vote.

The nonpartisan race asks voters a single question: whether to retain Christiansen Forster on the bench. She has served on the Utah Court of Appeals since June 2010, when Governor Gary Herbert appointed her, according to her biography on the Utah Courts website. She is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data.

Draper residents who cast ballots in the general election will see the retention question alongside other judicial races. The Draper Herald has also profiled retention votes for Judges Gregory Orme and David Mortensen.

In a retention race, voters do not choose between competing candidates. They vote yes or no on whether to keep the sitting judge in office.

Candidate information

  • Name: Michele M. Christiansen Forster
  • Office: Utah Court of Appeals judge
  • Race: Retain Christiansen Forster? (Yes/No)
  • Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in history, Lawrence University; juris doctor, University of Utah (1995)

Experience and public service

Before joining the bench, Christiansen Forster built a career across private practice, federal prosecution and state government, according to her Utah Courts biography.

She began as an attorney at Parsons Behle & Latimer from 1995 to 1998. She also served as a law clerk for Judge Tena Campbell, according to BallotReady.

She then served as an assistant United States attorney in the District of Utah from March 1998 to January 2005. In that role she worked as a federal prosecutor.

Christiansen Forster served as executive director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice from January 2005 to July 2006. She then moved to the Office of Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr., where she served as general counsel from July 2006 to May 2007.

She was appointed to the Utah Third District Court in May 2007 and served there until June 2010, when Herbert elevated her to the Court of Appeals. She has served on that court since then.

Outside the courtroom, Christiansen Forster serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.

On the issues

The candidate information in this profile is drawn from the Utah Courts judicial biography, BallotReady and the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law faculty directory.