Month: December 2020

Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment period closed February 11, 2021

URCP005. Service and filing of pleadings and other papers. AMEND. The proposed amendments to Rule 5(b)(3) would make email service the default method.

URCP006. Time. AMEND. The proposed amendments to Rule 6(c) acknowledge the timing issues surrounding mail service by expanding the amount of time to act from 3 days to 7.

URCP007. Pleadings allowed; motions, memoranda, hearings, orders. AMEND. The proposed amendments to Rule 7 would provide that motion hearings may be held remotely, consistent with the safeguards in Rule 43(b).

URCP037. Statement of discovery issues; Sanctions; Failure to admit, to attend deposition or to preserve evidence. AMEND. The proposed amendments to Rule 37 would provide that hearings on discovery issues be conducted remotely, consistent with the Rule 43(b) safeguards.

URCP043. Evidence. AMEND. Replaces repealed Code of Judicial Administration Rule 4-106. The proposed amendments would provide appropriate safeguards for the use of remote hearings and bring evidentiary hearings into the rule’s purview. The amendments would also adopt an oath to be used for all witness testimony.

URCP045. Subpoena. AMEND. The proposed amendments to Rule 45 would provide that if an appearance is required in response to a subpoena, the subpoena must provide notice of the date, time, and place for the appearance and, if remote transmission is requested, instructions for participation and who to contact if there are technical difficulties.

URCP076. Notice of contact information change. AMEND. The proposed amendments to Rule 76 would coordinate with the Rule 5 amendments by clarifying the purposes for which updated contact information is provided to the court.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed February 4, 2021

CJA03-0101. Judicial Performance Standards (AMEND)
Establishes a definition for “submitted” for purposes of the case under advisement performance standard, and clarifies that judges will be considered compliant with education and case under advisement standards if their failure to meet one or both of those standards was due to circumstances outside of the judge’s control. All material relied upon by the Judicial Council in making a certification decision or explanation shall be forwarded to JPEC and shall be made public to the extent that the information is not confidential personal health information.

CJA03-0108. Judicial Assistance (AMEND)
Authorizes the presiding officer of the Judicial Council to appoint a district court presiding judge as the signing judge for automatic expungements in all district courts within the presiding judge’s district.

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Rules of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closed January 17, 2021

Proposed changes merge the attorney Rules of Professional Conduct and the LPP Rules of Professional Conduct into one set of rules. Currently, there are two nearly identical sets of Rules of Professional Conduct for each type of licensee. One set of rules is more efficient and makes changes and updates to the rules simpler and more uniform.

Preliminary Notes

RPC01.00. Terminology.

RPC01.01. Competence.

RPC01.02. Scope of representation and allocation of authority between client and lawyer.

RPC01.05. Fees.

RPC04.02. Communication with persons represented by legal professionals.

RPC06.01. Voluntary pro bono legal service.

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