Posted: December 20, 2021
Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed February 3, 2022
CJA01-0205. Standing and Ad Hoc Committees (AMEND). Creates a Standing Committee on Fairness and Accountability. Amends the membership of the Committee on Resources for Self-represented Parties, the Committee on Model Utah Criminal Jury Instructions, and the Committee on Court Forms.
CJA02-0103. Open and closed meetings (AMEND). Removes the requirement that the AOC send a separate notification to a newspaper of general circulation when the Judicial Council meeting agendas are posted on the Utah Public Notice Website. Clarifies that a Judicial Council meeting may be closed for discussions regarding legal advice of counsel.
CJA03-0420. Committee on Fairness and Accountability (NEW). Outlines the roles and responsibilities of the new Committee on Fairness and Accountability.
CJA04-0903. Uniform custody evaluations (AMEND). Limits the circumstances under which a custody evaluation can be ordered and outlines the training requirements of those who conduct custody evaluations.
CJA04-903: I disagree with 2(H). The party requesting a written report should NOT necessarily have to pay for it. This rule incentivizes the “loser” of a custody evaluation from settling at a 4-903 conference. The person wanting to call the evaluator as a witness would automatically be forced to pay for the report even though the evaluator may have determined custody in them is in the child’s best interest. Moreover, the rule doesn’t recognize why the evaluation was ordered. It could have come from a petition to modify stemming from an allegation of child abuse or domestic violence. The evaluation could have been ordered to help the court reassess the parenting plan contained in the decree. The rule that the party requesting the report pays for it can act to keep the evaluation from the court if the abuser refuses to accept the evaluation and, instead, forces the innocent party to request and pay for the report in order to try the case.