Posted: April 24, 2023
Rules of Civil Procedure – Effective May 1, 2023
URCP059. New trials; amendments of judgment. AMEND. Amendments made to subparagraph (e) to include “unless otherwise provided for by statute or rule” because as previously written the rule may conflict with Utah Code section 78B-6-811(5)(b), which states a court may modify a judgment for additional amounts owed if a motion is submitted within 180 days.
Posted: April 24, 2023
Code of Judicial Administration – Effective April 25, 2023
CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND). The proposed amendments update statutory references and include three substantive changes:
- Classifies records related to Court Commissioner Conduct Committee and Council actions under CJA Rule 3-201.02 as “private,” except for public censures by the Judicial Council.
- Safeguards contact information in domestic cases upon request, if the individual’s contact information has been safeguarded in a protective order or stalking injunction action under (8)(A) or in the cases listed under (8)(B).
- In response to S.B. 93, classifies:
- sex designation records for both minors and adults as “private;”
- name change records for both minors and adults as “public,” and
- records in cases involving both a name change and a sex designation change, for minors and adults, as “private” (with a few exceptions).
Posted: April 20, 2023
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective May 1, 2023
URAP005. Discretionary appeals from interlocutory orders. Final Rule 5 is amended to: (1) clarify what will be deemed the entry date for an order that is entered on a weekend or legal holiday; and (2) clean up language for clarity and consistency.
URAP011. The record on appeal. Final Rule 11 is amended to: (1) add a requirement that parties include the position of all other parties when filing a motion to supplement the record; and (2) change the reference to Rule 11(e)(1) to (c)(1).
URAP022. Computation and enlargement of time. Final Rule 22 is amended to: (1) clarify what will be deemed the entry date for an order that is entered on a weekend or legal holiday; (2) clarify “legal holiday” and provide a link to the Utah Court’s website that lists the holidays on which the Utah State Courts are closed; (3) add a requirement that parties include the position of all other parties when filing a motion; and (4) clean up language for clarity and consistency.
URAP052. Child welfare appeals. Final Rule 52 is amended to: (1) clarify what will be deemed the entry date for an order that is entered on a weekend or legal holiday; and (2) clean up format for consistency.
Posted: April 20, 2023
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective May 3, 2023
URAP004. Appeal as of right: when taken. S.B. 18, the Public Expression Protection Act, originally sought to impose a 21-day deadline to file a notice of appeal from the denial of an expedited motion to dismiss a lawsuit under the Act. But the Utah Supreme Court’s legislative liaison recognized that including a deadline to file a notice of appeal in a statute could raise constitutional questions about whether that deadline infringes the Court’s procedural rulemaking authority. There was not enough time left in the legislative session for the legislature to pursue a joint resolution to amend the rules of appellate procedure to add the new deadline. Thus, to avoid future litigation on the constitutional issue, court and legislative personnel worked jointly to amend rule 4 to include the new deadline to take effect simultaneously with the bill’s effective date of May 3, 2023. The Court has accordingly adopted the amendment to rule 4 on an expedited basis, with the public comment period to follow, pursuant to rule 11-105(5) of the Utah Rules of Judicial Administration.
Posted: March 20, 2023
Code of Judicial Administration – Effective May 1, 2023
CJA03-0403. Judicial branch education (AMEND). Proposed amendments require judicial officers and court employees to complete annual training on harassment and abusive conduct, ethics, inclusion, and elimination of bias. Other amendments are intended to streamline the rule and reflect current onboarding and orientation practices.
Posted: March 13, 2023
Rules of Criminal Procedure – Effective May 3, 2023
URCrP007B. Preliminary Examinations. In its 2023 legislative session, the Utah Legislature approved SJR006, modifying Rule 7B of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure. The amendment clarifies the extent to which a magistrate may use hearsay evidence to find probable cause in a preliminary examination.
URCrP016. Discovery. In its 2023 legislative session, the Utah Legislature approved SJR006, modifying Rule 16 of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure. The amendment requires prosecutors to disclose all evidence relied upon when filing an information and creates a deadline for such disclosure.
Posted: March 13, 2023
Rules of Evidence – Effective May 3, 2023
URE1102. Reliable Hearsay in Criminal Preliminary Examinations. In its 2023 legislative session, the Utah Legislature approved SJR006, modifying Rule 1102 of the Utah Rules of Evidence. The amendment permits a prosecutor, or staff for a prosecutor, to transcribe a declarant’s statement or assist a declarant in drafting a statement, so long as the prosecutor, or staff for the prosecutor, does not draft the statement or tamper with the witness.
Posted: February 27, 2023
Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice – Effective February 22, 2023
CJA11-0107. Open and Public Meetings. NEW. This rule describes when Supreme Court committees should hold open meetings and defines allowable reasons for closed meetings. This rule is consistent with the philosophy of the Open and Public Meetings Act.