Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed August 24, 2017

CJA 03-111. Performance evaluation of senior judges and court commissioners. Amend. 1) Clarifies when court commissioners’ annual evaluations will be completed, by whom, what the evaluation process will entail; 2) establishes when the presiding judge will prepare a performance plan versus a corrective action plan for a court commissioner; and 3) moves the Judicial Council’s certification process from August to July.

CJA 03-201. Court commissioners. Amend. Clarifies 1) how the districts and court levels that a commissioner will serve will be represented on the court commissioner nominating committee; 2) how a commissioner is selected if they will serve more than one judicial district or court level; 3) that the commissioner certification process addresses retention, not removal; 4) that when a commissioner serves two districts or court levels, the presiding judges will each prepare performance evaluations and performance plans; and 5) how the commissioner public comment period results are reviewed and used.

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Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closed August 11, 2017

URCrP 007 Amend. The provisions in existing rule 7 are being divided into separate rules, each dealing with a different subject. Rule 7 will now address initial proceedings for class A misdemeanors and felonies.

URCrP 007A New. The rule addresses procedures for class B & C misdemeanors and infractions. The rule also adds specific provisions on pretrial release conditions.

URCrP 007B New. The rule addresses preliminary hearings. The rule generally reflects existing language.

URCrP 007C New. The rule addresses the procedures for material witnesses. The rule generally follows existing language.

URCrP 009 New. The new rule 9 will establish procedures for warrantless arrests. Of particular interest to practitioners may be the time-frames related to pretrial release decisions and deadlines for filing informations.

URCrP 009A New. The rule creates procedures for arrests pursuant to a warrant and includes specific procedures on pretrial release decisions.

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Rules of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closed July 28, 2017

RPC 08.04 Misconduct. Amend. Adds new ABA Model Rule paragraph (g), which provides that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status in conduct related to the practice of law.

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Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment Period Closed June 4, 2017

URCP005. Service and filing of pleadings and other papers. Amend.  Provides that certificates of service are not required for papers that are prepared and served by the court. Also provides that the court submitting a paper to the electronic filing service provider is a valid method of service if the person being served has an electronic filing account.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed April 24, 2017

CJA 11-0103. Amend. The amendments will require the Supreme Court’s rules advisory committees to submit rules to the Supreme Court before they are published for public comment.

CJA 11-0201. Amend. The first set of amendments helps to distinguish between active senior judges and inactive senior judges. The second set of amendments creates a process for the Supreme Court to review senior judge applications and for the applicant to submit information directly to the Supreme Court.

CJA 11-0203. Amend. The first set of amendments helps to distinguish between active senior judges and inactive senior judges. The second set of amendments creates a process for the Supreme Court to review senior judge applications and for the applicant to submit information directly to the Supreme Court.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed April 14, 2017

CJA 4-0202.09 . Miscellaneous. Amend. Provides that records in property and use tax cases involving commercial information as that term is defined in Utah Code § 59-1-404 are protected. If a request is made to access a record or records, the records will be released within 14 days, except for specific records ordered by the court as sealed, private, protected, or safeguarded. 30 days after the court issues a non-appealable, final order, all records will be public, except as otherwise classified.

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Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closed April 8, 2017

URJP018 Adds language regarding the ability to serve a pleading by email on an attorney who has an email account on file with the Utah State Bar. Clarifies that eFiling in the Juvenile Court’s Court and Agency Records Exchange (C.A.R.E.) does not constitute service upon a party and that an agreement to accept email service is not required to effectuate the provisions of Rule 18.

URJP037 Adds reference to the statutory provisions in Section 78A-6-1111 pertaining to limitations on the appointment of counsel for indigent parties.

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