SALT LAKE CITY — A new law requires Utah judges to put children's safety first when making custody decisions. To help them meet that requirement, they are now receiving additional training on domestic violence.
Representatives of Utah's court system presented a comprehensive overview of the training plan to lawmakers at the state Capitol on Wednesday, telling a court-focused panel that judges, associate judges and other court personnel are preparing to learn more.
“They're always open to new ideas, they're always open to new resources that will help them better understand the cases that are before them,” State Court Administrator Ron Gordon told KSL after giving a brief presentation to the Judiciary Interim Committee.
The first training is scheduled for November, with the rest of the training taking place over the next two years. Gordon did not say how much time each employee will have to spend on it.
The 2024 measure, known as “Om's Law,” required courts to create a training plan. The reform came after a similar move in Colorado and followed KSL's reporting on Utah's family court system.
The law is named after Om Moses Gandhi, a 16-year-old Salt Lake City boy who was at the center of a custody battle that dragged on for more than a decade while his mother tried to bring her ex-husband's violence to the court's attention. Om was shot and killed in 2023 by his father, Parth Gandhi, who subsequently took his own life, according to police.
Om's mother, Leah Moses, successfully advocated for the changes, which she said likely would have saved her son's life. Moses received a standing ovation from the Utah Senate in March when it finally passed the measure.
“It's really hard for me to look back into the past,” Moses told KSL at the Capitol on Wednesday. “But right now we all have an opportunity to look to the future and help kids who are in the middle of it right now.”
The training addresses physical, sexual and emotional abuse and its effects on children, as well as trauma and coercive control (patterns of behavior intended to hurt, frighten or isolate another person and which can lead to murder). Other topics include: common behaviors shared by victims and their perpetrators.
The trainings will range from basic review to in-depth sessions, Gordon and other state court officials said in a memo to lawmakers before the meeting. The trainings will be led by local and national trainers, including the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Moses said she believes the additional training will be extremely important. Not only judges and court staff will participate, she said, but also evaluators and attorneys who work directly with children and play a critical role in their safety.
“We are at the beginning of a really exciting change,” Moses said.
The courts estimate the cost of the program at $160,000, including a planned multi-day conference in late 2025 or early 2026 and a new role with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition. Gordon said grants could cover some or all of the cost.
The courts plan to measure their progress through focus groups, surveys and an audit.
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