Utah Courts – Utah Court Rules

Posted: October 31, 2024

Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice – Effective November 1, 2024

The purpose of these new rules is to align the governance structure of the Office of Legal Services Innovation and Legal Services Innovation Committee with the rule-based governance structures the Supreme Court uses to manage the Utah State Bar, Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, and the Office of Professional Conduct. These new chapters do not amend or alter any existing practices or authorizations.

LSIR11-701. Purpose. New.

LSIR11-702. Composition. New.

LSIR11-703. Disclosure, Recusal, and Disqualification. New.

LSIR11-704. Office and Committee Powers. New.

LSIR11-705. Entity Data. New.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: October 31, 2024

Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice – Effective November 1, 2024

UCJA11-503. Oversight Committee for the Office of Professional Conduct. AMEND. The proposed amendments to this rule increase the number of committee members, expand the responsibilities of the committee, and increase the frequency of the committee’s meetings.

UCJA11-510. Ethics and Discipline Committee composition. AMEND. The proposed amendments to this rule prohibit the chair of the Ethics and Discipline Committee from engaging in the private practice of law for payment. The proposed amendments also make stylistic changes.

UCJA11-520. Chief Disciplinary Counsel and OPC counsel. AMEND. The proposed amendments to this rule clarify the employment structure and responsibilities of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the Office of Professional Conduct.

UCJA11-521. OPC prosecutorial powers and duties. AMEND. The proposed amendments to this rule clarify the authority of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the Office of Professional Conduct.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: October 30, 2024

Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Effective November 1, 2024

URJP014. Reception of referral; preliminary determination. Amend. The approved revision to paragraph (a) clarifies when a probation officer must send a delinquency referral to a prosecutor. This change conforms with Utah Code sections 80-6-303.5 and 80-6-304.5. The changes also include several stylistic changes and a restructuring of paragraphs (a) and (c).

Supreme Court Order

Posted: October 29, 2024

Rules of Evidence – Effective November 1, 2024

URE0615. Excluding Witnesses. Amend. The amendments conform closely to recent amendments made to FRE 615. They clarify that witnesses may be excluded “from the courtroom or from a place where they can see or hear the proceedings;” specify that only “one” “officer or employee of a party that is not a natural person” be exempt from exclusion “if that officer or employee has been designated as the party’s representative by its attorney;” and add a new subparagraph (b) to clarify that the court may make other orders to “prohibit disclosure of trial testimony to excluded witnesses,” and to “prohibit excluded witnesses from accessing trial testimony.”

Supreme Court Order

Posted: October 29, 2024

Approved Amendments to Utah Code of Judicial Administration – Effective November 1, 2024

CJA01-205. Standing and ad hoc committees. Amend. CJA03-114.Judicial outreach. Repeal. The proposed amendments: 1) create a Tribal Liaison Committee; 2) remove the general counsel member position from the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders Committee (WINGS); 3) eliminate the Pretrial Release and Supervision Committee; and 4) repeal the Judicial Outreach Committee. The Outreach Committee’s work will be absorbed by the Committee on Fairness and Accountability.

CJA02-102. Council agenda. Amend. The proposed amendments formalize the existence of the Council’s consent calendar, list the items which may be placed on the calendar, outline the process for removing items from the calendar, and require a Council vote on items placed on the consent calendar.

CJA03-422. Tribal Liaison Committee. New. The proposed amendments create a new Judicial Council standing committee, the Tribal Liaison Committee, to serve as a core leadership team for the Tribal Liaison and to provide subject matter expertise to the Council regarding matters impacting both the judiciary and tribal courts.

CJA03-501. Insurance benefits upon retirement. Amend. The proposed amendments clarify policies regarding retirement benefits for commissioners and judges of courts of record and incentive benefits for active senior judges.

Judicial Council Order

Posted: October 10, 2024

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective November 1, 2024

URAP019. Extraordinary relief. Amend. The amendment to Rule 19 updates the reference to Rule 23C.

URAP021. Filing and service. Amend. The amendments to Rule 21 include: (1) removing the language “and accompanied by proof of service” in paragraph (c) because that language is unnecessary where paragraph (e) provides the requirements for proof of service; (2) changing “contact information” to “user accounts” to clarify that electronic service will occur on parties that have a user account; and (3) removing the language from paragraph (a)(1) about the transition to e-filing and the effective date of August 1, 2024.

URAP023C. Motion for emergency relief. Amend. The amendments to Rule 23C include: (1) changing “emergency relief” to “expedited review” to clarify the precise use of this rule; and (2) clean-up language for clarity and consistency.

URAP029. Oral Argument. Amend. The amendment to Rule 29 adds that a party may not reserve more than five minutes for rebuttal during oral argument.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: October 10, 2024

Rules of Civil Procedure – Effective November 1, 2024

URCP001. General Provisions. FINAL. The amendments to this rule are to conform to the rules style guide. It was reviewed along with Rule 81 after the drafting of the new Rules of Business and Chancery Court Procedure.

URCP005. Service and filing of pleadings and other documents. FINAL. The amendments to this rule take into account the new filings systems and ways in which service and filing can be accomplished. The major amendments include removing the list from paragraph (a), updating the methods of service found in paragraph (b), and a revised paragraph (d) for certificates of service. Amendments were also made to conform to the rules style guide, format for other rules, and to use plain language.

URCP007A. Motion to enforce order and for sanctions. FINAL. The amendments to rules 7A(h) were made to clarify the enforcement mechanisms found in rule 37(b) as opposed to using the motion to enforce order and for sanctions process found in rule 7A. This amendment also includes a proposal to delete subparagraph (b)(6) from Rule 37. The proposed amendments to Rule 37 will be forthcoming as the proposals include additional language changes for subpoenas that are being made in conjunction with several other URCP rules.

URCP060. Relief from judgment or order. FINAL. The amendments to this rule are to clarify the language found in subparagraph (d) and update the numbering found in subparagraph (b) to conform to the rules style guide.

URCP081. Applicability of rules in general. FINAL. The amendments to this rule were proposed after the drafting and finalization of the new Rules of Business and Chancery Court Procedure, and to conform to the rules style guide.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: September 5, 2024

Utah Rules of Business and Chancery Court Procedure – Effective September 1, 2024

NEW Utah Rules of Business and Chancery Procedure – These rules were drafted using the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure as their base line. These rules simply incorporate them by reference rather than repeat the identical language. The Rules of Civil Procedure that do not apply in Business and Chancery Court are explicitly excluded by reference in Appendix A. These rules are effective Sept. 1, 2024.

URBCP001. NEW — General provisions.

URBCP008. NEW — General rules of pleadings.

URBCP010. NEW — Form of pleadings and other papers.

URBCP013. NEW — Counterclaim and crossclaim.

URBCP014. – NEW— Third-party practice.

URBCP016. – NEW— Pretrial conferences.

URBCP018. – NEW— Joinder of claims and remedies.

URBCP019. NEW— Joinder of persons needed for just adjudication.

URBCP020. NEW— Permissive joinder of parties.

URBCP022. NEW — Interpleader.

URBCP024. NEW— Intervention.

URBCP026. NEW — General provisions governing disclosure and discovery.

URBCP038. NEW— Jury trial of right.

URBCP042. NEW — Consolidation and separate trials.

URBCP063. NEW — Disability or disqualification of a judge.

URBCP065A. NEW— Injunctions.

URBCP065B. NEW — Extraordinary relief.

URBCP077. NEW — Business and chancery court; clerks.

URBCP085. NEW— Title.

URBCP086. NEW — Licensed paralegal practitioners.

Appendix A. NEW – Rules of Civil Procedure excluded from Rules of Business and Chancery Court Procedure.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: September 5, 2024

Approved Amendments to Utah Code of Judicial Administration – Effective November 1, 2024

CJA1-204. Executive committees. (AMEND) Amends membership on the Technology Advisory Subcommittee.

CJA4-202.01. Definitions. (AMEND) Clarifies that calendars are not “records.”

CJA4-905. Restraint of minors in juvenile court. (AMEND) The approved amendments fix an incorrect reference.

The approved amendments below update statutory references to account for the recodification of the Domestic Relations Code.

CJA4-508. Guidelines for ruling on a motion to waive fees. (AMEND)

CJA4-510.06. Cases exempt from ADR rules. (AMEND)

CJA4-903. Uniform custody evaluations. (AMEND)

CJA4-907. Divorce education and divorce orientation courses. (AMEND)

Judicial Council Order

Posted: September 5, 2024

Approved Amendments to Utah Code of Judicial Administration

CJA3-102. Assumption of judicial office. (AMEND) Clarifies that the Judicial Council may extend the qualification time period for an appointee confirmed by the Senate when the judge the appointee is replacing has not ended their term.

CJA4-206. Exhibits. (AMEND) The proposed amendments reflect recent statutory changes concerning the receipt, retention, and exposal of court exhibits.

CJA4-101. Manner of Appearance. (NEW) The Supreme Court recently adopted rules of civil, criminal, and juvenile procedure identifying factors judges should consider when setting in-person, remote, and hybrid hearings. This rule is a companion rule addressing notice and compliance.

Judicial Council Order