July 2022 – Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment

Posted: July 20, 2022

Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closed September 3, 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.

Posted: July 19, 2022

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed September 2, 2022

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 proposed amendments codify a change in practice that was implemented a few years ago.

Posted: July 14, 2022

Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closed August 28, 2022

URCrP008. Appointment of counsel. (AMEND). The language of this rule has been amended to clarify when the right to counsel applies to defendants charged with a criminal offense. The rule also includes a new subsection to explain the right to self-representation and how a defendant may waive the right to counsel. The colloquy courts should engage with defendants seeking to waive the right is provided in this addition. Finally, the rule clarifies the prerequisite qualifications for attorneys appointed to represent defendants charged in capital cases.

Posted: July 14, 2022

Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closed August 28, 2022

URCrP042. Expungement. (NEW). Pursuant to U.C.J.A. Rule 11-105, the Utah Supreme Court has approved Rule 42 of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure for expedited adoption and another round of public comment. This version of the Rule includes technical and substantive corrections to match procedures for automatic expungement provided by Utah Code Ann. 77-40a-201. The Rule further contemplates protocol that the Administrative Office of the Courts will follow to create lists of expungement-eligible cases and identify and remove from those lists cases that do not meet eligibility criteria or are objected to by victims or prosecutors.

Posted: July 14, 2022

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed August 28, 2022

URAP004. Appeal as of right: when taken. Amend. The Committee is posting for public comment proposed changes to Rule 4(f) again after numerous comments were received, and additional changes were made to the proposed rule amendment. The Committee previously proposed the following changes: (1) add to the rule the standard governing motions to reinstate the time for appeal; (2) restructure the section to be consistent with subsection 4(g) (addressing reinstating the right to appeal in civil cases); (3) clean up language for clarity and consistency; and (4) included a one-year deadline from discovery of facts giving rise to the claim.

After reviewing the comments received the Committee removed the three examples from Manning v. State, 2005 UT 61, 122 P.3d 628, previously located under paragraph (f)(5) because, as Manning recognized, those examples did not provide the exclusive grounds for reinstating the right to appeal. See id. ¶31 n.11.

The Committee also worked on rewording the one-year deadline to make it even more flexible by allowing district courts to hear claims that are brought after the one-year deadline, provided a defendant can show that she brought her claim within a reasonable time. The Committee agreed that a flexible deadline was necessary because missing the deadline prevents a criminal defendant (who will usually be incarcerated and pro se) from asserting her constitutional right to appeal.

Posted: July 14, 2022

Rules of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closed August 28, 2022

RPC01.16. Declining or terminating representation. AMEND. In accordance with Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S 470 (2000), and ABA Standard 4-9.1, codifies in new paragraph (e) the ethical obligation of defense counsel to secure a criminal defendant’s right to appeal.

RPC08.04(c). Misconduct. AMEND. Codifies in 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.