Rules of Evidence – Effective November 1, 2022

URE0412. Admissibility of Victim’s Sexual Behavior or Predisposition. AMEND. Rule 412 is amended to clarify that the Rule is applicable to juvenile delinquency proceedings as well as criminal proceedings.

URE0504. Legal Professional – Client. AMEND. Rule 504 is amended to expand the lawyer-client privilege to cover not only confidential client communications with lawyers, but also other legal professionals including licensed paralegal practitioners.

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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective November 1, 2022

URAP008. Stay or injunction pending appeal.

URAP017. Stay pending review.

URAP023B. Motion to remand for findings necessary to determination of ineffective assistance of counsel claim.

URAP029.  Oral argument.

URAP037.  Suggestion of mootness; voluntary dismissal.

The listed rules were amended to (1) add “or declaration” any time affidavit is mentioned; (2) add an Advisory Committee Note explaining that the term “declaration” refers to the unsworn declaration described in Title 78b, Chapter 18a, Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act; (3) move the reference to the statute in Rule 37 to an Advisory Committee Note so the rules will be consistent; and (4) remove language in Rules 8 and 17 regarding other sworn statements.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Effective November 1, 2022

CJA04-0206. Exhibits. (Amend). For clarification purposes, “biological evidence” has been added to the non-exhaustive list of exhibits that will remain in the custody of parties during trial and a reference to Title 53, Chapter 20, Forensic Biological Evidence Preservation, has been added to paragraph (5) to draw parties’ attention to their responsibilities regarding disposal of biological evidence.

CJA09-0107. Justice court technology, security, and training account. (Amend). Following the creation of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, the approval process for allocations from the Justice Court Technology, Security and Training Account was modified. The approved amendments codify a change in practice that was implemented a few years ago.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Effective October 1, 2022

CJA04-0208.  Automated case processing procedures. (AMEND) HB 139, deferred traffic prosecution, goes into effect on October 1, 2022. The amendments authorize the Administrative Office of the Courts to develop a process for issuing automated orders in deferred traffic prosecution cases, similar to the clean slate expungement process. Removes definitions of terms that are not included in the rule.

CJA03-0108. Judicial assistance. (AMEND) HB 139, deferred traffic prosecution, goes into effect on October 1, 2022. The amendments allow the presiding officer of the Council to appoint a district court presiding judge as the signing judge for deferred traffic prosecution orders in all district courts within the presiding judge’s district with jurisdiction over eligible cases.

CJA04-0403. Electronic signature and signature stamp use. (AMEND) HB 139, deferred traffic prosecution, goes into effect on October 1, 2022. The amendments allow the electronic signature of a judge to be automatically affixed to orders related to deferred traffic prosecution cases.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Effective November 1, 2022

CJA04-0202.03. Records access. (AMEND) Allows a petitioner in an expunged case to obtain a certified copy of the expungement order and case history upon request and in-person presentation of positive identification. This mirrors the process for adoptive parents in obtaining a certified copy of an adoption decree.

CJA06-0501. Reporting requirements for guardians and conservators. (AMEND). Incorporates changes related to H.B. 320 (Guardianship Bill of Rights), streamlines and clarifies exceptions to reporting requirements, outlines procedures and timelines for approval of and objection to reports, and requires the use of a Judicial Council-approved Order on Review and report forms that are substantially the same as Judicial Council-approved forms.
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Rules of Criminal Procedure – Effective July 19, 2022

URCrP012.5. Notice of transfer Domestic Violence case from Justice Court to District Court. (NEW). On July 1, 2022, H.B. 196 went into effect, modifying Section 78A-7-106 of the Utah Code. The statute now includes a provision whereby a domestic violence case set for trial in a justice court may be transferred to a district court after the prosecuting attorney or defendant files a notice of transfer. Rule  12.5 proposes procedure justice courts and district courts should follow to effectuate this transfer.

Pursuant to U.C.J.A. Rule 11-105, the Utah Supreme Court has approved new Rule 12.5 of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure for expedited adoption and a 45-day comment period.

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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective August 1, 2022

USB14-0209. Utah Bar Foundation. REPEAL. The Utah Bar Foundation amended and restated its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and no longer has a defined membership. This rule is thus moot and is therefore repealed.

Background
The Utah Bar Foundation (UBF) was created in 1963 as a 501(c)(3) organization. Its original purpose was to raise funds from members of the legal community in order to support civil legal aid for lower-income Utahns, to fund law-related education, to further the administration of justice, and to support other worthwhile law-related causes.
Section 2.1 of UBF’s 1963 founding Bylaws stated the following: “Section 2.1 Classification, Qualification, Privileges and Election of Members. The corporation shall have one class of members consisting of all duly qualified, active members of the Utah State Bar who are in good standing. Each member shall have one (1) vote at any meeting of the members.” At some point many years ago, language in substantially the same form was codified in Rule 14-209.
UBF stopped raising private funds from the legal community in 1999 when nonprofit “and Justice for all” was created. “and Justice for all” now serves as the primary fundraising organization in the legal community.
Because UBF has evolved to receive financial support from a wide variety of sources and not solely from private legal community funds, the UBF Board held a meeting of its members to vote on proposed Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws that would eliminate a defined membership. By removing the defined membership, now any active, inactive, and non-attorney with an interest in access to justice issues is eligible to serve on the Utah Bar Foundation Board of Directors. It also rendered moot the language of Rule 14-209.
The vote on the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws took place in December 2021. All duly qualified, active members of the Utah State Bar in good standing were invited to attend. Notice for that meeting was provided in the Utah Bar Journal and given via email to all qualified UBF members as their email addresses appeared on the records of the Utah State Bar.
Please contact the Foundation offices for any questions or additional information at 801-297-7046 or via email at kim@utahbarfoundation.org.

 

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