Frances M. Palacios is Utah’s first Hispanic American female judge.[1][2][3][4]
She earned her political science degree from Weber State University (1977) and Juris Doctor from the University of Utah Law School (1980).[5] On October 9, 1980, Palacios was admitted to practice law in the state. During the 1980s, she was employed at the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association as a court-appointed trial attorney.[6][7] In 1992, she became the first Hispanic female judge upon being appointed as a Commissioner of the Third District Court.