December 2023 – Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment

Posted: December 20, 2023

Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closed February 3, 2024

URJP019C. Delinquency, traffic and adult criminal matters. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 19C include: (1) modifying the heading and the addition of a new paragraph (a) that provides the scope of this rule; (2) the addition of a new paragraph (f) to provide direction regarding motions on the justification of the use of force as a defense; and (3) stylistic and grammatical changes.

Posted: December 20, 2023

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed February 3, 2024

CJA03-0108. Judicial assistance (AMEND). Authorizes the presiding officer of the Judicial Council to appoint a juvenile court presiding judge as the signing judge for automatic expungement orders in juvenile court cases within the presiding judge’s district.

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND)

CJA04-0202.03. Records access (AMEND)

*Note: Rule drafts include amendments approved by the Judicial Council on November 20, 2023, also effective January 1, 2024.

Amends records classification and access to certain juvenile court social records, juvenile court legal records, and adoption records to align with rules of procedure and Utah code. Amendments also allow attorneys representing individuals authorized access to adoption, expungement, and juvenile court social records to obtain copies of the records with a signed and notarized release.

CJA04-0208. Automated case processing procedures (AMEND). Expands the rule to encompass an automated expungement process for successful nonjudicial adjustments in juvenile court cases and prohibits judges from manually issuing automatic expungement orders outside of automated processes approved by the Judicial Council.

Posted: December 18, 2023

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed February 1, 2024

CJA03-0104. Presiding judges (AMEND). The proposed amendments replace the definition of case under advisement with a reference to the criteria in CJA 3-101 and require state level administrators to report to the Management Committee if they determine a judge has willfully failed to submit a monthly case under advisement report.

Posted: December 15, 2023

Rule Governing the Utah State Bar – Comment Period Closed January 29, 2024

MCLE Rule Amendments

Utah Supreme Court Board of Continuing Legal Education

Proposals to move Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Rules from Chapter 14, Article 4 to Chapter 11 in a new Article 6; to repeal Chapter 14, Article 4; to then renumber rules referenced in new Article 6; Moving the article from the chapter entitled “Rules Governing the Utah State Bar, to the chapter entitled “General Provisions.” will help to clarify the common misunderstanding of who is responsible for the requirements of legal education. The change will be a good step to help lawyers distinguish the responsibility of the Court from the activities of the Bar.

Article 6; to clarify Board governance and make duties more transparent; The current rule does not include “the Director” in the definitions. Including the description will help to clarify that the Director is appointed by the Court and is supervised by the Board.

Finalize instruction included in professionalism and civility; and confirm the requirements for Well-being CLE.

Expanding the definition of accredited “Professionalism and civility CLE” to include instruction on Well-being, teaching time and law practice management; incorporating the term “substance use disorder” and permitting learning about diversity, equity and inclusion.

Increasing the time period from six months to twelve months that lawyers and paralegal practitioners may remain on inactive status without complying the annual CLE requirements to ensure that they are completing the hours of required CLE.

Technical amendments to clarify that the total number of Board members is ten, excluding any additional emeritus members; and to formalize that a quorum for taking action is six.

Posted: December 6, 2023

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed January 20, 2024

URAP011.The record on appeal. Amend. The Committee proposes amending Rule 11 to: (1) clarify how parties can access sealed records on appeal; and (2) clarify that exhibits will also be included in the record along with a list of all exhibits. The proposed amendment regarding access to sealed records is in response to the opinion in State v. Chadwick, 2023 UT 12, which addressed whether a criminal defendant could access sealed mental health records on appeal when the appeal involved a claim that the trial court erred in conducting its in camera review of those records.

URAP022. Computation and enlargement of time. Amend. The Committee proposes amending Rule 22 paragraph (b)(4)(D) so the rule will match the long-standing procedure used in the appellate clerk’s office. Rather than requiring a party to predict when they will be able to complete the task for which the extension is sought, the party will be required to state only the new due date if the extension is granted. Because the same language that the Committee proposes amending is also included in the existing advisory committee note, the Committee proposes adopting a new note with that language removed.

URAP052. Child welfare appeals. Amend. In accordance with the opinion in A.S. v. State, 2023 UT 11, the Committee proposes amending Rule 52 to: (1) modify the title of paragraph (c) to mirror the title used in paragraph (d) of Rule 4; and (2) add a procedure for a parent to file a motion to reinstate the period for filing a direct appeal if the parent demonstrates that they were deprived of the right to appeal.