Commissioner Brandon R. Richards
See how to properly and efficiently work with Commissioner Richards and his team with this free informal bench book, created with information provided by the Commissioner and their clerks.
District Court
Courtroom Number
Commissioner Bio
"Commissioner Brandon R. Richards was appointed as Second District Court Commissioner in May 2025. He serves Weber, Davis, and Morgan counties. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University, he earned his law degree from the University of Idaho. Following law school, Commissioner Richards began his law practice in Ogden, with a focus on domestic relations law, civil ligation, probate, and estate planning. He also represented Hooper City and Plain City as city attorney and prosecutor. Commissioner Richards served as an instructor at the Weber State University Law Enforcement Academy and enjoyed teaching constitutional law to the incoming cadets. He serves in the community on several community councils and has coached dozens of youth sports teams."
Typical Hearing Schedule
- Monday Mornings: In-person protective orders
- Monday Afternoons: Webex motion hearings
- Tuesday Mornings: In-person motion hearings
- Tuesday Afternoons: In-person motion hearings or half day informal trial or protective order evidentiary hearings
- Wednesday Mornings: In-person protective orders
- Wednesday Afternoons: In-person motion hearings or half day informal trial or protective order evidentiary hearings
- Thursday Mornings: Pretrial conferences
- Thursday Afternoons: Webex motion hearings
- Friday Mornings: In-person motion hearings
Typical Time Allotment by Hearing Type
- 15 minutes for SODI, objections to form, motions to appoint GAL or custody evaluators
- 30 minutes for most other motions
- Half day for informal trials or evidentiary hearings
Hearings Where Parties are Not Required to Personally Attend
- All pretrial conferences are Webex
Hearing Types: In-person vs. Remote
- Commissioner Richards is open to accommodating Webex motion hearings, except for in-person hearings for protective orders (absent a demonstrated need to appear remotely).
- Informal trials and evidentiary hearings must be in person.
- If a Webex hearing is desired, please schedule it that way from the outset, as motions to change to Webex after the matter has been scheduled are not generally granted.
Timeline for Virtual Link or Call Information
Webex links are provided 1-2 days prior to the hearing and are a different link each time for security reasons.
Motion to Appear Remotely Circumstances
For a protective order, there must be a demonstrated need to appear remotely such as the party lives out of state or similar. Counsel is generally required to be present in person for protective order matters, even if the client is allowed to appear remotely.
Matters [besides those listed in Rule 101(m)] Scheduled in front of a Judge without Commissioner Review
None.
"Expedited" Hearing Circumstances
TRO, relocation matters
Preferred Exhibit Submission Method
Physical binder
Review Hearing or Status Conference Requests
By filing a request. Commissioner Richards will review the request and make a determination on whether a motion will be required.
Pretrial and Trial Scheduling
These are generally set at the CMC. A motion would be required to move the date once it has been set.
Commissioner Preferences or Requests
- Please be clear in your pleadings as to what you are asking the court to do.
- Be sure to follow the page limit rules. Commissioner Richards will not read beyond the page limits set by rule absent a granted motion.
- Be aware of how much time is available for your particular hearing and stick to the timeframes allowed.
- Discuss possible resolution of the pending motion with opposing counsel prior to the time set for the hearing.
- Be civil and courteous to opposing counsel/pro se parties. Overly aggressive argument or behavior is not persuasive.
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