Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment – Page 18 – The Supreme Court and Judicial Council invite comments about amending these rules. To view the proposed amendment, click on the rule number. To submit a comment or view the comments of others, click on “Continue Reading.” To submit a comment, scroll down to the “Leave a Reply” section, and type your comment in the “Comment” field. Type your name and email address in the designated fields and click “Post Comment.” Comments cannot be acknowledged, but all will be considered. Comments are saved to a buffer for review before publication.

Posted: December 28, 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 Replaces repealed Code of Judicial Administration Rule 4-106.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.

Posted: December 21, 2020

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.

Posted: December 3, 2020

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.

Posted: November 25, 2020

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed January 9, 2021

CJA Appendix J. Ability-to-Pay Matrix (AMEND). In response to House Bill 206, the Uniform Fine and Bail Schedule has been replaced by the Uniform Fine Schedule and the Ability-to-Pay Matrix. The Ability-to-Pay Matrix provides recommended monetary bail amounts using the poverty guidelines and an individual’s risk of failing to appear in court. Setting monetary bail is a highly fact dependent decision. The recommended amounts do not reflect the maximum amount a judge may order. Judges should ordinarily impose monetary bail based on a person’s ability-to-pay. However, judges continue to have the same discretion to deviate from the recommended amounts as they had under the Uniform Fine and Bail Schedule, provided judges conduct an individualized assessment of ability-to-pay and risk.

Posted: November 2, 2020

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Comment Period Closes December 17, 2020

The Supreme Court Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education is proposing changes to the MCLE Rules that govern licensed attorneys. For more information, please see the attached letter from David Hirschi, Chair MCLE Board.

David Hirschi MCLE Letter

Posted: November 2, 2020

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closes December 17, 2020

URAP034. Costs. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 34: (1) provide a flat $3.00 per page for costs in 34(c)(1); (2) change dates throughout the rule to increments of seven; (3) comport the rule with Standing Order 11 (Regarding filing documents by email); (4) replace the term “taxed” to “awarded” throughout the rule; and (5) clean up other language for clarity and consistency.

Posted: October 26, 2020

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed December 10, 2020

CJA04-0202.02. Records Classification (AMEND). Clarifies that all records related to determinations of indigency are private records.

CJA04-0403. Electronic signature and signature stamp use (AMEND). Authorizes judges’ electronic signatures to be automatically affixed to automatic expungement orders.

Posted: October 7, 2020

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed November 21, 2020

CJA03-0301.01. State Court Administrator—Complaints and Performance Review; Complaints Regarding Judicial Officers and State Court Employees (NEW)

Establishes the Management Performance Review Committee, outlines a process for reviewing the performance of the State Court Administrator, and creates an avenue by which complaints regarding the State Court Administrator, judicial officers, and state court employees can be received, reviewed, and investigated.

CJA03-0105. Administration of the Judiciary (NEW)

Sets forth the authority of judges, courts, the Supreme Court, and the Judicial Council to administer the functions of the judicial branch. Creates a process by which the Supreme Court and Judicial Council may assess and determine exclusive and predominate authority, and how those two bodies will communicate with each other when issues arise.

Posted: October 6, 2020

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed November 20, 2020

CJA03-0201. Court Commissioners (AMEND)
Clarifies that both the Council and presiding judges can take corrective actions in response to a complaint or poor performance, and “removal” was added as a possible corrective action.

CJA03-0201.02. Court Commissioner Conduct Committee (AMEND)
More clearly defines the committee’s charge and complaint procedures, and creates an appeals process if the Committee dismisses a complaint without a hearing.

Posted: September 29, 2020

Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment period closed November 13, 2020

The amendments and new rule are related to pretrial release practices in response to HB 206.

URCrP004. Amend. Prosecution by information.

URCrP006. Amend. Warrant of arrest or summons.

URCrP007. Amend. Initial proceeding for class A misdemeanors and felonies.

URCrP007A. Amend. Procedures for arraignment on class B and C misdemeanors, or infractions.

URCrP009. Amend. Proceedings for persons arrested without a warrant on suspicion of crime.

URCrP009A. Amend. Proceedings for persons arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant.

URCrP010. Amend. Arraignment.

URCrP027. Amend. Stay of sentence pending motions for new trial or appeal from court of record.

URCrP027A. Amend. Stays pending approval from a court not of record – Appeals for a trial de novo.

URCrP027B. Amend. Stays pending approval from a court not of record – Hearings de novo, DUI and reckless driving case.

URCrP028. Amend. Disposition after appeal.

URCrP038. Amend. Appeals from justice court and district court.

URCrP041. New. Unsecured bonds.