Month: April 2023

Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment Period Closed June 8, 2023

URCP006. Time.  AMEND.  The proposed change adds “Juneteenth National Freedom Day (as recognized by the Utah Legislature as the third Monday of June)” to the list of legal holidays set forth by the rule.  Also, change “state” to “legal” in subparagraph (a)(6)(M).

URCP012.  Defenses and objections.  AMEND.  The proposed change adds “file and” to the language before the word “serve” to make it clear answers must be filed with the court and served.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed June 8, 2023

CJA04-0202.03. Records access (AMEND).

CJA04-0202.05. Request to access an administrative record; research; request to classify an administrative record; request to create an index (AMEND).  The proposed amendments align the rules with Utah Code Sections 77-40a-403(2)(b) and 77-40a-404, identifying individuals and entities who may access expunged records. Other amendments are non-substantive and intended to streamline the rules.

CJA04-0404. Jury selection and service (AMEND). The proposed amendments add the option to email juror qualification forms and summonses to prospective jurors.

CJA06-0501. Reporting requirements for guardians and conservators (AMEND). In response to previous public comments, the proposed amendments clarify filing requirements and use of forms for guardians and conservators.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed June 8, 2023

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND). The proposed amendments update statutory references and include three substantive changes:

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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).

 

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Rules of Evidence – Comment Period Closed June 5, 2023

URE0506. Physician and Mental Health Therapist-Patient. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 506 seeks to find a proper balance between maintaining a strong privilege, respecting a criminal defendant’s constitutional rights, and clarifying when and how the exception applies.

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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed June 4, 2023

URAP014. Review of administrative orders: how obtained; intervention. Public Comment. The Committee proposes amending Rule 14 to: (1) add a filing fee provision. This provision was inadvertently removed from the rule in 2016. The Committee is adding the provision back into the rule so it is consistent with Rules 3 and 5.

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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed June 4, 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.

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