South Salt Lake’s new justice court judge Mark Flores’ first priority is ensuring that people in his courtroom are treated fairly.

“My family has always believed that we’re supposed to stick up for other people, look out for other people, speak up when we think there’s an injustice being done or a problem that needs to be fixed,” he said.

As a justice court judge, Flores has a heavy caseload but despite that challenge it is essential to treat everyone who comes before him with respect, he said.

As a judge, “I think the most important thing is to be respectful and thoughtful about the people who come into this court,” he said. “For many of them it will be their one and only time that they come into contact with the criminal justice system. And I think it’s important that they feel respected, that they feel that they were treated fairly, and that there was a just outcome. I think that’s the primary goal.” 

“The secondary goal is to recognize the bigger picture, that there needs to be a perception that this is a neutral courtroom, that I don’t have any vested interest in prosecuting the case or defending the case,” he added. “I’m here just to hear the facts as they’re presented to me, and to try and ensure that whatever plea bargain is reached, or whatever sentence is reached, is fair and just within the confines of the law.”

Flores brings significant legal experience to his new role. He has a BA in political science from Utah State University and a doctorate from Howard University’s School of Law.  He was in private practice for 23 years during which he served as a public defender in Vernal for seven years. After the traveling became too much, Flores worked briefly in the Salt Lake City prosecutor’s office. He then served as an assistant Salt Lake County district attorney from August 2024 until he was sworn in to his current position in February. While those experiences were valuable, it was his time in Vernal that taught him the most about public service, he said.

“It’s really an opportunity to understand a community so much better, or at least to understand some of the challenges that a community is facing so much better than when you’re in private practice,” he said.

Flores did not expect to serve as a judge; in fact he actively rejected the idea at one point.

“That was never one of my goals, but I did have an opportunity to work in front of several judges that I had a lot of respect for,” he said.

One of those was Judge Clark McClellan of the Eighth District Court in Vernal who urged Flores to consider
the idea. 

“He kept talking to me about it and talking to me about it, and eventually I started thinking, ‘Well, maybe, maybe that is another way to accomplish the things that I think are important to accomplish within the criminal justice system,’” Flores said.

Flores understands that those who come before him are often nervous and fearful, but he advises them to ask questions anyway.

“Especially people who are there for the first time, they don’t want to be perceived as a criminal or as a bad person, and I think that creates a lot of anxiety,” he said. “I try to engage with them in a way that is not threatening, in hopes that it brings down some of the anxiety. Ask me questions when I explain your rights to you, and I explain the penalties that you’re facing and you don’t understand them. Ask, ask 100 times I don’t care.”

“The most important thing I think, for a defendant to do, whether they’re asking to set the case over because they want to prove that they didn’t commit the crime, or at least force the city to prove that they did, or they’re entering a plea agreement that day, is to make those decisions with as much of an understanding of the process as they can,” he said.

In addition to his public service, Flores has provided legal representation to several NFL players over the years. He became a registered NFL agent while representing some Utah State University football players after a 2010
legal issue. 

“During that time, I got to know a lot of the players, and I’m starting to watch some of them, you know, getting opportunities to play in the NFL, and I just thought, ‘Well, I can represent these guys,’” he said.

Among those he has represented is Washington Commanders’ Marcus Kemp, a Layton native who has also played for the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants. 

Flores has put all that on hold while he focuses on his position with South Salt Lake but does not rule out the possibility that he will return to it sometime in the future. In the meantime he plans to do his best as a justice court judge.

“I’m approaching this job with the hope and expectation that that people are going to come here and be treated fairly and respectfully, and I’m going to do my absolute best to be a neutral person in this, and I’m going to respect the rights of the defendant,” he said. λ