Utah Courts Recent Press Notifications

Salt Lake City, UT –In 2019, Utah lawmakers unanimously passed Utah’s Clean Slate law, which automatically clears old and minor criminal records of individuals who have remained crime free for a set period of time. On February 10, 2022, Utah officially begins automatic expungement and becomes the second state in the country to implement a Clean Slate law.

“We believe in the rule of law and that people should be held accountable when a law is broken. But we also believe in second chances,” said Governor Spencer Cox. “Utah’s Clean Slate law is a common-sense policy that will help people find housing, get jobs and contribute back to their communities after paying their debt to society.”

Having a criminal record is more common than many people realize. More than 1 in 4 Utahns have some type of record and those records can create barriers to housing and jobs. Nearly 500,000 Utahns have been identified for automatic clearance so far.

“For the Courts, this law is about access to justice, an issue we care deeply about,” said Ron Gordon, State Court Administrator. “We know that our legal systems have barriers and that many of our neediest Utahns require a lawyer to help them and cannot afford one. Criminal record expungement is one of these areas. Due to cost, the complicated process, lack of knowledge, and lack of legal representation, less than 10% of people eligible to clear their records have made it through the process. Utah’s Clean Slate law changes this landscape completely.”

Utah’s Clean Slate law provides automatic record expungement for cases dismissed with prejudice and certain qualifying misdemeanor conviction records.

• Individuals must remain conviction-free for 5-7 years (depending on the level of the offense) in order to qualify.
• Covered offenses include misdemeanor A drug possession, most misdemeanor B and C level offenses, and all infractions.
• Utah’s Clean Slate law will not clear any felony records, domestic violence related offenses, sex offenses, simple assault, or DUI offenses.
• Utah’s Clean Slate law has numerical limits, which means that some individuals will have too many total records to qualify for any automatic clearance.

The Utah Courts will first start to clear records of cases that have been dismissed or resulted in an acquittal. There are 218,000 records with over 800,000 combined cases that fall into these categories and will be automatically expunged. These cases will not all be expunged at once. This will happen in batches over the coming months.

“Clean Slate is a key step to rebuild our workforce and drive our economic recovery forward,” said Derek Miller, President & CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance. “The smart policy of automating the expungement process will give thousands of deserving Utahns the second chances they deserve, while at the same time making our state a better place to live and work. It represents a common-sense solution for closing the justice and opportunity gaps – one that will further solidify our status as the best state for business.”

Code for America played a vital role in the effort to automate Utah’s Clean Slate law, as part of its national effort to make automatic record clearance the standard across the country. Code for America, in partnership with the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts, created an algorithm to automatically identify all the conviction cases that were immediately eligible to be cleared and receive record clearance relief once the law took effect. The Utah Courts are now adopting Code for America’s code and technical process to identify eligible conviction records on their own and continually clear records as the meet eligibility requirements.

“The fundamental shift – moving from a petition-based process to an automatic process – will help Utah achieve record clearance equitably, expeditiously, and at scale,” said Meilani Santillan, Code for America’s Criminal Justice Program Director. “We’re proud that because of our work, almost 500,000 people will receive conviction relief starting this month. A conviction should not be a life sentence to poverty, and this achievement will help tens of thousands of people in Utah have access to jobs, housing and other opportunities that they otherwise might be denied.”

Clean Slate Utah is a 501(c)(3) formed to help raise awareness of Utah’s Clean Slate law and educate the public about automatic record clearance. Its team can help by:

• Answering general questions about both petition-based and automatic expungement
• Connecting self-represented people to free legal resources
• Covering the cost of non-waivable BCI fees for those who qualify
• Determining if people qualify for free legal support through partnership with Rasa

For more information about Clean Slate Utah, visit www.cleanslateutah.org or https://vimeo.com/675665366.

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Wellsville, UT—The Cache County Nominating Commission has selected four nominees for a  judicial vacancy that will serve Wellsville, Utah. The position will replace Judge Terry Moore who resigned his position in May of 2021.

Following are the nominees followed by place of employment and residence:

• Judge Trevor Cook, J.D., Justice Court Judge of Rich County Justice Court, resident of Nibley,

• Judge Matthew Funk, Justice Court Judge of the Richmond City Justice Court and the Providence City Justice Court, resident of Richmond,

• Judge Matthew Lorz, J.D., Justice Court Judge of the North Logan and Hyde Park Justice Court, resident of North Logan, and

• Judge Kevin Nelson, Justice Court Judge of the Mantua Justice Court, resident of Mantua.

A comment period will be held through February 14, 2022. A final candidate will then be selected by the Wellsville Mayor, Thomas Bailey, within 30 days. The selection must then be certified by the Utah Judicial Council. To submit written comments about the candidates, please contact Amy  Hernandez at amymh@utcourts.gov.

Pleasant View, UT—The Weber County Nominating Commission has selected four nominees for a judicial vacancy that will serve Pleasant View, Utah. The position will replace Judge Patrick Lambert who retired in July of 2021.

Following are the nominees followed by place of employment and residence:

• Michelle Jeffs, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Pleasant View,

• Darrin Johns, J.D., attorney at law, resident of North Ogden,

• Judge Bryan Memmott, J.D., Justice Court Judge of the Plain City Justice Court, the Woods Cross Justice Court, the South Ogden Justice Court, and the South Weber Justice Court, resident of Fruit Heights, and

• Judge Paul Olds, J.D., Justice Court Judge of the Riverdale City Justice Court, the Farr West Justice Court, and the Washington Terrace Justice Court, resident of Pleasant View.

A comment period will be held through February 14, 2022. A final candidate will then be selected by the Pleasant View Mayor, Leonard Call, within 30 days. The selection must then be  certified by the Utah Judicial Council. To submit written comments about the candidates, please  contact Amy Hernandez at amymh@utcourts.gov.

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Salt Lake City, UT – Utahns can now search public court records online more easily for a $5 fee by going to xchange.utcourts.gov.

Last year, the Utah Legislature passed HB249, expanding access to Xchange, the state’s online portal to public court records. Now, people can access court records by going to xchange.utcourts.gov and paying a $5 fee, which goes toward searches and documents.

“This significantly enhances your ability to access court records” said Ron Gordon, State Court Administrator. “Our team has been working diligently over the past year to make this tool available to the public.”

Members of the public can create an account or they can log in as a guest.  A valid email address is required. A person will be charged $.20 for each search and $.50 for each document.  Those fees will be deducted from the $5 charged up front. There is no limit on how many times a person can pay the $5 fee. Previously, users had to pay for a monthly subscription to Xchange.

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North Ogden, UT—The Weber County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on February 2, 2022 to review applications for a justice court judge position that will serve North Ogden, Utah. The position will replace Judge Patrick Lambert who retired in July,  2021. The Commission will begin the meeting at 7:00 a.m. The meeting will be held online through this meeting link:

https://utcourts.webex.com/utcourts/j.php?MTID=mabc2c3cb79c43685581a23d4baf92dbb

The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Following the public comment period, the meeting will be closed to allow commission members to review applications for the vacancy.

Individuals interested in appearing before the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting should contact Amy Hernandez at (801) 578-3809 or amymh@utcourts.gov to request an appointment.

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Stockton, Utah—Applications are being accepted for a justice court judge position that will serve Stockton, Utah. The position will replace Judge Ron E. Powell who will retire in March.

To be considered for a justice court judgeship in Tooele County, candidates must be at least 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a Utah resident for at least three years, and have earned a high school diploma or GED. In addition, candidates must be a resident of Tooele County or an adjacent county for at least six months immediately preceding appointment.

Information on judicial retention and performance evaluation is posted on the Utah State Court’s website at legacy.utcourts.gov under employment opportunities. An application for judicial office form must be completed and is available on the court’s website (legacy.utcourts.gov/admin/jobs).  The salary range for the position is $6,145 to $11,060 per year and does not include benefits.

For additional information, contact Laura Mott at (435) 882-3877.

The deadline for applications is Monday, February 14, 2022 at 5 p.m. and should be sent to the  attention of Amy Hernandez, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114-0241. For an application or information, email amymh@utcourts.gov.

Utah law requires the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit three to five nominees to the  mayor of Stockton, who will be Nando Meli Jr., within 45 days of its first meeting. Mayor Meli will then have 30 days in which to make a selection. His selection must then be ratified by the  Stockton Town Council and certified by the Utah Judicial Council.

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Farmington, UT – The Second District Court Commissioner Nominating Committee has selected three nominees for the commissioner position that will serve Davis, Morgan, and Weber counties.  The position will replace T. R. Morgan, who resigned effective January 14, 2022.

The following are the nominees, along with their places of employment and residence:

• Andy Leger, Leger Family Law, Woods Cross
• Wade Taylor, Nelson, Taylor and Associates, Highland
• Julie Winkler, Utah Legal Services, Inc., Ogden

A public comment period will be held through Monday, January 31, 2022.  A final candidate will then be selected by the judges of the Second District Court.  The selection must then be approved by the Utah Judicial Council.

Please submit written comments about the candidates to Lawrence Webster, Trial Court Executive, at larryw@utcourts.gov.

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Salt Lake City, UT – Thomas R. Lee, Associate Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court, has announced his retirement. In a letter sent to Governor Spencer Cox on January 19, 2022, Justice Lee said:

“It has been an honor to serve the people of the State of Utah as a member of the Supreme Court. For twelve years, I have been privileged to work with an impressive group of committed, principled colleagues on this court and throughout the judiciary.

I have decided that the time has come for me to pursue other opportunities in the legal profession. I anticipate stepping down from the court on July 31, 2022.”

Justice Lee was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court by Governor Gary Herbert in 2010.  He has a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.  Justice Lee currently serves as Associate Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court. He also serves on the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and teaches on a part-time basis as a lecturer in law at BYU, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School.

“Associate Chief Justice Lee is an extraordinary jurist and scholar,” said Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant. “I don’t think a single opinion has been issued in a case in which he participated that was not improved by his scholarship, whether or not he was the named author. His work has been brilliant and his commitment to the rule of law unparalleled.”

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Pleasant View, UT—The Weber County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a  meeting on January 24, 2022 to review applications for a justice court judge position that will  serve Pleasant View, Utah. The position will replace Judge Patrick Lambert who retired in July, 2021. The Commission will begin the meeting at 7:00 a.m. The meeting will be held online through this meeting link:

https://utcourts.webex.com/utcourts/j.php?MTID=m08d9fddf4b34fc3c4ed08aba131a2fdd

The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Following the public comment period, the meeting will be closed to allow commission  members to review applications for the vacancy.

Individuals interested in appearing before the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting should contact Amy Hernandez at (801) 578-3809 or amymh@utcourts.gov to request an appointment.

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Wellsville, UT—The Cache County Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled a meeting on January 18, 2022 to review applications for a justice court judge position that will serve Wellsville, Utah. The position will replace Judge Terry Moore who resigned his position in May, 2021. The Commission will begin the meeting at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be held online through this meeting link:

https://utcourts.webex.com/utcourts/j.php?MTID=m38540939043911ddb803a11e87df7a3b

The early portion of the meeting is scheduled for public comment about issues facing the Utah judiciary and improvements to the system. Public comments will be accepted from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Following the public comment period, the meeting will be closed to allow commission members to review applications for the vacancy.

Individuals interested in appearing before the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting should contact Amy Hernandez at (801) 578-3809 or amymh@utcourts.gov to request an appointment.