Rules of Professional Conduct – Effective May 1, 2024

RPC01.02. Scope of representation and allocation of authority between client and lawyer. Licensed paralegal practitioner notice to be displayed. AMEND. Clarifies the circumstances under which a lawyer may advise or assist a client with respect to Utah’s cannabis laws.

RPC07.01. Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services. AMEND. Rule 7.1 was recently circulated for comment in response to a petition to the Supreme Court. That petition expressed concern about the direct solicitation of potential clients soon after traumatic events. The petition proposed returning to the Rules of Professional Conduct a ban on direct solicitation. Such a ban previously appeared in Rule 7.3 and still appears in the ABA Model Rule. The Utah Supreme Court eliminated the ban on direct solicitation in 2020. The proposed amendments that were drafted in response to the petition generated a large number of comments in opposition. Using Fla. Bar v. Went For It, Inc., 515 U.S. 618, 620–21 (1995) as a guide, the rule was redrafted to more narrowly address the petition’s concerns. That rule proposal is now the subject of this comment period.

RPC08.04. Misconduct. AMEND. Rule 8.4 circulated for comment last year. The proposal attempted to codify in a new paragraph (2) Ethics Advisory Opinion 02-05, which concluded that 8.4(1)(c) (conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation) does not apply to government attorneys overseeing an otherwise legal undercover criminal investigation. The proposal as written received a number of comments in opposition. A new proposal, which is now the subject of this comment period, provides that while it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, a lawyer may participate in lawful investigatory activities employing deception for the purpose of detecting ongoing violations of law. Those lawful investigatory activities include governmental “sting” operations; use of testers in fair-housing cases to determine whether landlords or real estate agents discriminate against protected classes of applicants; and gathering evidence of copyright violations.

Supreme Court Order

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Code of Judicial Administration – Effective January 1, 2024

CJA03-0108. Judicial assistance (AMEND). Authorizes the presiding officer of the Judicial Council to appoint a juvenile court presiding judge as the signing judge for automatic expungement orders in juvenile court cases within the presiding judge’s district.

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND)

CJA04-0202.03. Records access (AMEND)

*Note: Rule drafts include amendments approved by the Judicial Council on November 20, 2023, also effective January 1, 2024.
Amends records classification and access to certain juvenile court social records, juvenile court legal records, and adoption records to align with rules of procedure and Utah code. Amendments also allow attorneys representing individuals authorized access to adoption, expungement, and juvenile court social records to obtain copies of the records with a signed and notarized release.
CJA04-0208. Automated case processing procedures (AMEND). Expands the rule to encompass an automated expungement process for successful nonjudicial adjustments in juvenile court cases and prohibits judges from manually issuing automatic expungement orders outside of automated processes approved by the Judicial Council.
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Code of Judicial Administration – Effective January 1, 2024

CJA06-0301. Authority of court commissioner as magistrate. (AMEND). Within the bounds of Utah Code section 78A-5-107 and constitutional limitations on the delegation of judicial authority, broadens commissioners’ magistrate authority.

Supreme Court Order for CJA 6-301

CJA04-0202.08. Fees for records, information, and services. (AMEND). Clarifies that court appointed attorneys requesting records on behalf of an indigent client qualify for a fee waiver. Removes bulk data fees and individual hourly rates from the rule. Rates will be posted on the court webpage.

Supreme Court Order for CJA 4-202.08

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification. (AMEND)

CJA04-0202.03. Records access. (AMEND)

Classifies video records of court proceedings as sealed and limits access to official court transcribers, court employees, and anyone by court order.

Supreme Court Order for CJA 4-202.02

Supreme Court Order for CJA 4-202.03

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Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Effective November 15, 2023

URJP009. Detention hearings; scheduling; hearing procedure. Amend. The approved amendments to Rule 9 include a correction to the referenced statute in paragraph (a), and the addition of paragraph (o), allowing the juvenile court to review predisposition orders to detention every 30 days instead of every seven days when there is concurrent jurisdiction in the district and juvenile courts or when a criminal information is pending in the juvenile court. The changes also include replacing the language “shall” with “must” or “will” to comply with the Supreme Court Style Guide.

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Rules of Evidence – Effective November 1, 2023

URE0101. Scope; Definitions. Amend. The amendments add certain definitions in subparagraph (b) to clarify the applicability of the Utah Rules of Evidence to juvenile court proceedings, and add subparagraph (c) to specify that in the event of conflict between these definitions and the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure, the latter rules govern.

URE0412. Admissibility of Victim’s Sexual Behavior of Predisposition. Amend. Subparagraph (a) is amended to omit the specific reference to “juvenile delinquency” proceedings. In view of the proposed amendments to URE 101 and 1101, the reference is unnecessary. The reference could also be confusing since other rules that likewise apply to juvenile delinquency proceedings do not include such specific references.

URE0615. Excluding Witnesses. Amend. Subparagraphs (d) and (e) are amended to omit the specific references to “juvenile delinquency” proceedings. In view of the proposed amendments to URE 101 and 1101, the references are unnecessary. The references could also be confusing since other rules that likewise apply to juvenile delinquency proceedings do not include such specific references.

URE1101. Applicability of Rules. Amend. Subparagraph (a) is amended to add a provision clarifying that the Utah Rules of Evidence apply to “all juvenile court proceedings unless stated otherwise in the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure.”

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Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Effective November 1, 2023 – CORRECTED

URJP022. Initial appearance and preliminary examination in cases under Section 80-6-503. Amend. The approved amendments to Rule 22 include: (1) adding reference to Utah Code section 80-6-504 to the title; (2) changing the term “preliminary examination” to “preliminary hearing”; (3) in paragraph (f), adding reference to subsection (3) of 80-6-504; (4) in paragraph (g), clarifying timelines for scheduling preliminary hearings based on whether a youth is in custody, removing reference to Utah Code section 80-6-503, and moving the language allowing extension to time periods to the end of the paragraph; (5) replacing the language in paragraph (h) and making reference to 80-6-504(11); (6) removing specific probable cause language in paragraph (j) and making reference to 80-6-504(2)(a) and 80-6-503(3) instead; and, (7) adding “may” to the second clause of paragraph (k) to mirror the language of Rule 7B of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure.  The changes also include replacing the language “shall” with “must” or “will” to comply with the Supreme Court Style Guide. Lastly, a previous version of Rule 22 was circulated that unintentionally included the language “in whole or in part” in paragraph (k) that had been previously removed by the legislature on May 3, 2023. Effective November 1, 2023.

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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar and Rules of Professional Practice – Effective November 1, 2023

USB14-0207.  Finances. Approved. This rule amendment requires the Utah State Bar to annually submit to the Supreme Court  recommendations on increasing, decreasing, or maintaining current licensing fees.

Supreme Court Order for USB 14-207

RPP11-0107. Open and Public Meetings. Approved. This rule amendment adds the newly established Advisory Committee on the Rule of Business and Chancery Procedure to this rule as a committee that must only hold open meetings.

Supreme Court Order for RPP 11-107

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