Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment – Page 4 – 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: July 19, 2023

Rules of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closed September 2, 2023

RPC07.01. Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services. AMEND. Rule 7.1 was recently circulated for comment in response to a petition to the Supreme Court. That petition expressed concern about the direct solicitation of potential clients soon after traumatic events. The petition proposed returning to the Rules of Professional Conduct a ban on direct solicitation. Such a ban previously appeared in Rule 7.3 and still appears in the ABA Model Rule. The Utah Supreme Court eliminated the ban on direct solicitation in 2020. The proposed amendments that were drafted in response to the petition generated a large number of comments in opposition. Using Fla. Bar v. Went For It, Inc., 515 U.S. 618, 620–21 (1995) as a guide, the rule was redrafted to more narrowly address the petition’s concerns. That rule proposal is now the subject of this comment period.

RPC08.04. Misconduct. AMEND. Rule 8.4 circulated for comment last year. The proposal attempted to codify in a 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. The proposal as written received a number of comments in opposition. A new proposal, which is now the subject of this comment period, provides that while it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, a lawyer may participate in lawful investigatory activities employing deception for the purpose of detecting ongoing violations of law. Those lawful investigatory activities include governmental “sting” operations; use of testers in fair-housing cases to determine whether landlords or real estate agents discriminate against protected classes of applicants; and gathering evidence of copyright violations.

Posted: June 29, 2023

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Comment Period Closed August 13, 2023

USB14-0403. Establishment and membership of Board. Amend. This amendment reduces the size of the MCLE Board from 15 to 10 voting members. This amendment also adjusts the term lengths of new appointments to the Board.

Posted: June 29, 2023

Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closed August 13, 2023

RPP11-0101. Creation and Composition of Supreme Court Committees. (Amend). This amendment allows the Supreme Court to appointment new members to committees for terms of less than three years where appropriate for the needs of the committee.

Posted: June 28, 2023

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed August 12, 2023

URAP005. Discretionary appeals from interlocutory orders. The Committee proposes amending Rule 5 to: (1) Make the process for preparing the record consistent with those in other types of appeals; and (2) remove the language requiring the ordering of transcripts be expedited (if parties require an expedited appeal they may file a 23C motion for emergency relief).

URAP050. Response; reply. The Committee proposes amending Rule 50 to: (1) add language which will allow a party to respond to a petition for writ of certiorari only when the Court requests one, as is the current practice for responses to petitions for interlocutory appeal (Rule 5(f)) and for rehearing (Rule 35(a)(4)); (2) remove language about the timing for a response when the filing fee is paid after the petition is served because responses will no longer be permitted unless requested by the Court (additionally, Rule 48(a) addresses the filing fee requirement); and (3) clean up language for clarity and consistency.

Posted: June 26, 2023

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed August 10, 2023

CJA04-0202.11. Vexatious record requester (NEW). New proposed rule establishing a process whereby an administrative unit in the judicial branch can petition for relief from a person the administrative unit believes to be a vexatious records requester. The rule is in response to S.B. 231 and 63G-2-702(5) passed during the 2023 legislative session.

Posted: June 14, 2023

Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closed July 29, 2023

URJP022. Initial appearance and preliminary examination in cases under Utah Code section 80-6-503. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 22 include: (1) adding reference to Utah Code section 80-6-504 to the title; (2) changing the term “preliminary examination” to “preliminary hearing;” (3) in paragraph (f), adding reference to subsection (3) of 80-6-504; (4) in paragraph (g), clarifying timelines for scheduling preliminary hearings based on whether a youth is in custody, removing reference to Utah Code section 80-6-503, and moving the language allowing extension to time periods to the end of the paragraph; (5) replacing the language in paragraph (h) and making reference to 80-6-504(11); (6) removing specific probable cause language in paragraph (j) and making reference to 80-6-504(2)(a) and 80-6-503(3) instead; and, (7) adding “may” to the second clause of paragraph (k) to mirror the language of Rule 7B of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure. Lastly, the changes also include replacing the language “shall” with “must” or “will” to comply with the Supreme Court Style Guide.

Posted: May 17, 2023

Rules of Evidence – Comment Period Closed July 1, 2023

URE0101. Scope; Definitions. Amend. The Committee proposes to amend and add certain definitions in subparagraph (b) to clarify the applicability of the Utah Rules of Evidence to juvenile court proceedings, and to add subparagraph (c) to specify that in the event of conflict between these definitions and the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure, the latter rules govern.

URE0412. Admissibility of Victim’s Sexual Behavior of Predisposition. Amend. The Committee proposes to amend subparagraph (a) to omit the specific reference to “juvenile delinquency” proceedings. In view of the proposed amendments to URE 101 and 1101, the reference is unnecessary. The reference could also be confusing since other rules that likewise apply to juvenile delinquency proceedings do not include such specific references.

URE0615. Excluding Witnesses. Amend. The Committee proposes to amend subparagraphs (d) and (e) to omit the specific references to “juvenile delinquency” proceedings. In view of the proposed amendments to URE 101 and 1101, the references are unnecessary. The references could also be confusing since other rules that likewise apply to juvenile delinquency proceedings do not include such specific references.

URE01101. Applicability of Rules. Amend. The Committee proposes to amend subparagraph (a) to add a provision clarifying that the Utah Rules of Evidence apply to “all juvenile court proceedings unless stated otherwise in the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure.”

Posted: May 17, 2023

Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closed July 1, 2023

URJP037A. Visual recording of statement or testimony of child in abuse, neglect and dependency proceedings – Conditions of admissibility. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 37A include adding substantiation proceedings to the title and to paragraphs (b) and (c). The changes also include replacing the language “shall” with “must” or “will” to comply with the Supreme Court Style Guide.

Posted: May 5, 2023

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar and Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closed June 19, 2023

USB14-0711. Grading and Passing the Bar Examination. AMEND. This proposed rule amendment lowers the passing bar examination score from 270 to 260.

USB14-0712. Qualification for Admission Based on UBE. AMEND. This proposed rule amendment lowers the acceptable transferred Universal Bar Exam score from 270 to 260.

USB14-0207. Finances. AMEND. This rule amendment requires the Utah State Bar to annually submit to the Supreme Court recommendations on increasing, decreasing, or maintaining current licensing fees.

RPP11-0107. Open and Public Meetings. AMEND. This rule amendment adds the newly established Advisory Committee on the Rule of Business and Chancery Procedure to this rule as a committee that must only hold open meetings.

Posted: May 3, 2023

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed June 17, 2023

URAP008. Stay or injunction pending appeal. Rule 8 is being amended to remove references to specific subparagraphs within Rule 62 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 62 was significantly amended effective November 1, 2021. Those amendments deleted the prior subparagraph (d). Thus, the current reference in Rule 8(b)(1) of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure to “Rule 62(d) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure” no longer makes sense. To avoid future problems, the Committee also suggests modifying Appellate Rule 8’s subparagraph (c) because it also contains a reference to a specific subparagraph of Civil Rule 62.