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Michele Mladejovsky Christiansen Forster (born 1970) is an American lawyer who has served as a judge of the
Utah Court of Appeals The Utah Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Utah. It began operations in 1987. Jurisdiction The court's jurisdiction is complementary to that of the Utah Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals hears all ap ...
.


Early life and education

Forster was born in 1970 in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
. She attended
Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...
in
Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...
and earned her
undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher ed ...
in
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, making the
Dean's List A dean's list is an academic award, or distinction, used to recognize the highest level scholarship demonstrated by students in a college or university. This system is most often used in North America, though institutions in Europe, Asia, and Aust ...
for academic achievement. She also completed a senior research project in fall 1991 entitled: "
Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...
and the Search for Community in Early Nineteenth Century America" as part of a
Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...
Seminar: Research in the Humanities program. Forster returned to Utah to attend law school at the
University of Utah College of Law The S.J. Quinney College of Law is a professional graduate law school at the University of Utah. It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The law school was originally called the University of Utah College of Law, changing to its current name on No ...
. While in law school from 1992–1995, she worked as a law clerk at Parsons, Behle & Latimer, a
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
law firm, during the summers.Id. In 1994, she served a
judicial intern In the United States, a judicial intern (also commonly known as a "judicial extern" or "extern law clerk" ) is usually a law student or sometimes a recent law school graduate who provides assistance to a judge and/or law clerks in researching and w ...
ship with Utah Court of Appeals Judge Judith Billings. She worked as a Legal Writing and Research
tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
and a
teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...
while in law school. During her second year in Law School, Forster was a staff member for the ''Utah Law Review'' and published Utah Redevelopment Amendments in 1993. She graduated with her J.D. in 1995.


Career

In October 1995, Forster was admitted to the
Utah State Bar Utah State Bar is the regulatory agency established by the Utah Supreme Court to regulate the practice of law in Utah. The Utah State Bar is funded by dues from members, Bar exam dues, continuing education fees, Pro Hac Vice fees, and revenue gene ...
. After graduating from law school, Judge Forster became the first law clerk for Judge
Tena Campbell Marilyn Bernie "Tena" Gresky Campbell (born December 11, 1944) is an American jurist, lawyer, and former school teacher. She is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Education and ca ...
of the
United States District Court for the District of Utah The United States District Court for the District of Utah (in case citations, D. Utah) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Utah. The court is based in Salt Lake City with another courtroom leased in thstate courthous ...
, just appointed to the court earlier that year. Following her clerkship, Forster became an associate at the Salt Lake City firm of Parsons, Behle & Latimer. She focused on
civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...
litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
, particularly involving
natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
s. In 1998, Forster became an
assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...
in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Utah. She came to that office under a new initiative, Utah Federal Immigration Prosecution Project (FIPP), created to prosecute crimes committed by
illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
. She focused on prosecuting illegal aliens who had been convicted of a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...
and had been
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...
, but who had returned to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and committed another felony crime. Later, Christiansen's focus at the United States Attorney's changed and she began prosecuting
child exploitation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
,
child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
and other violent crime cases. She handled several rape cases and other child sexual abuse cases involving Native Americans on reservations. Forster left the U.S. Attorney's Office in January 2005 when she was appointed as the executive director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) by
Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. (born March 26, 1960) is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat who served as the 16th governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the L ...
, Utah's newly elected
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
. While serving in the policy advisor position, Forster was appointed chair of the Utah Sexual Violence Council. In July 2006, Forster was appointed as
general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
to Governor Huntsman. During this time, Christiansen also co-chaired the Utah
Methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...
Joint Task Force.


Judicial career

Huntsman appointed Forster a Third Judicial District Court judge in May 2007. Her docket was about 85 percent
criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
cases and 15 percent civil cases. For 18 months, she presided over a
mental health court Mental health courts link offenders who would ordinarily be prison-bound to long-term community-based treatment. They rely on mental health assessments, individualized treatment plans, and ongoing judicial monitoring to address both the mental hea ...
, a specialty court in which members of the
defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...
, the
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
and medical providers work as a team to resolve and deal with criminal defendants that suffer from
mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
problems. When Huntsman left the governorship in 2009 to be the
United States Ambassador to China The United States ambassador to China is the chief United States diplomat to the People's Republic of China. The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as commissioner, negotiated the Treaty ...
, Huntsman chose Forster to swear him in. Governor
Gary Herbert Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle. Herbert w ...
appointed Forster to the Utah Court of Appeals in May 2010. She was unanimously confirmed by the
Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature (US), state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members, each representing one senate district. Each senate ...
in June 2010.


Community involvement

Forster has been extensively involved in various professional organizations over the years. In the fall of 2004, Forster was profiled in the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
’s alumni magazine, Continuum. She served as a member of the University of Utah Young Alumni Board from 2004–2007. In 2009, Judge Forster was recognized on the Utah Legal Elite List compiled by Utah Business magazine.


External links


Judicial Profile in Bar & Bench: Salt Lake County Bar Association

Judge Michele Christiansen's Utah Courts Biography


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christiansen, Michele 1970 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Lawrence University alumni S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni Utah Court of Appeals judges Utah lawyers