Author: Utah Courts

Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed March 14, 2025

URAP040A. Vexatious Litigants. The committee proposes the creation of Rule 40A to create a process for the appellate courts to find a party to be a “vexatious litigant.”

URAP042.Transfer of case from Supreme Court to Court of Appeals. The committee proposes amending Rule 42 to: 1) add to the rule the Court’s currently internal process for retention of appeals in the Supreme Court; and 2) clean-up language for clarity and consistency.

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Approved Amendments and Public Comment Period for Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed March 14, 2025

URAP003. Appeal as of right—how taken.
URAP009. Docketing statement.
URAP010. Procedures for summary disposition or simplified appeal process.
URAP011. The record on appeal.
URAP019. Extraordinary relief.
URAP034. Costs.
URAP043. Rule 43. Certification by the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court.
The Committee proposes amending Rule 3 to add that parties may also appeal a final order or judgment from the Business and Chancery Court. The Committee also proposes amending Rules 9, 10, 11, 19, 34, and 43 to: 1) change “district court” to “trial court” to include the Business and Chancery Court; and 2) clean-up language for clarity and consistency.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed March 7, 2025

CJA01-101. General definitions – Rules of construction (AMEND)
The proposed amendments clarify and update uniform definitions in the Code of Judicial Administration.

CJA04-510.03. Qualifications of ADR providers (AMEND)
The proposed amendments remove the option for applicants to qualify for inclusion on the Court-Approved Alternative Dispute Resolution roster by completing education, training, or experience requirements not listed in the rule.

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Approved Amendments and Public Comment Period for Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closed February 16, 2025

The Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure updated citations to the Utah Code in Rules 6, 7, 7A, and 9. The amendments do not include any substantive changes to the Rules.

URCrP06. Warrant of arrest or summons. Amend.

URCrP07. Initial Proceedings for class A misdemeanors and felonies. Amend.

URCrP7A. Procedures for arraignment on class B or C misdemeanors, or infractions. Amend.

URCrP09. Proceedings for persons arrested without a warrant on suspicion of a crime.

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Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment Period Closed February 13, 2025

URCP053A. Special masters for parenting disputes in domestic relations actions.  NEW. This new rule is proposed to cover the court appointment of special masters specific to domestic relations actions.  A separate rule is being drafted and will be proposed to cover the training and qualifications of a special master in domestic relations actions.

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Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closed February 1, 2025

URJP016. Transfer of delinquency case. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 16 aim to provide clear and consistent direction regarding the transfer of and venue in a delinquency case while upholding the belief and best practice that a minor is best served by their “home judge.” In the initial stages, paragraph (a) limits the transfer of a referral to the county of occurrence to when a minor or the minor’s parent, guardian, or custodian cannot be located or fails to appear for a preliminary inquiry or the minor declines the offer for a nonjudicial adjustment. Proposed paragraph (b) then establishes the venue for arraignment and pretrial proceedings as the minor’s county of residence. According to paragraph (c), trial proceedings will be transferred to the county of occurrence. Paragraph (c) also provides further direction regarding different types of motions. Changes to paragraph (d) bring the process of transferring a case up-to-date and in-line with eFiling and the C.A.R.E. system.

URJP029. Multiple county offenses. Amend. The proposed changes to Rule 29 are tied to the proposed changes to Rule 16 of the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure. Paragraph (a) again establishes that arraignment and pretrial proceedings must occur in the minor’s county of residence. When transferring, paragraph (b) makes reference to Rule 16.

 

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Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment Period Closed January 31, 2025

URCP007. Pleadings allowed; motions, memoranda, hearings, orders. AMEND. Proposed amendments to (b)(4) regarding orders related to subpoenas under rule 45, and adding motions that may be acted upon without waiting for a response under (l).

URCP030. Depositions upon oral questions. AMEND. Proposed amendment to subparagraph (b)(6) to add clarity regarding objections to a subpoena, and amendments to conform with the style guide for the rules.

URCP037. Statement of discovery issues; Sanctions; Failure to admit, to attend deposition or to preserve evidence. AMEND. Proposed amendments to add a reference to objections under rule 45(e)(4) to the statement of discovery issues in subparagraph (a)(2), as well as to subparagraph (a)(3), to add person subject to and non parties affected by subpoenas to the proposed order requirements found in (a)(5), to remove subparagraph (b)(6), and amendments to correct references to other rules as well as conform with the style guide for the rules.

URCP045. Subpoena. AMEND. Proposed amendments to add a written requirement to subparagraph (e)(4), to clarify the process found in subparagraph (e)(5) regarding responses to objections and compliance, and amendments to conform with the style guide for the rules.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed January 30, 2025

CJA04-202.02. Records classification (AMEND)
Proposed amendments classify the contact and identifying information of a participant in the Safe at Home Program under Utah Code, title 77, chapter 38, part 6, as “safeguarded” upon receipt of notice. All other amendments are non-substantive formatting changes.

CJA04-202.04. Request to access a record associated with a case; request to classify a record associated with a case (AMEND)
Proposed amendments eliminate the requirement to submit a court records request in writing, if the individual is requesting access to non-public court records that they are authorized to access under Rule 4-202.03. All other amendments are non-substantive formatting changes.

CJA04-202.07. Appeals (AMEND)
Proposed amendments streamline and clarify the appeals process for requests to access court records, including the creation of an initial review process whereby the Management Committee will determine whether to deny an appeal, schedule a hearing, or take no action on an appeal.

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed January 10, 2025

CJA 4-202.08. Fees for records, information, and services. Amend. The proposed amendments: 1) set the fee waiver limit for government entities at $10.00 per transaction to ensure consistent application across the state; 2) set the fee for access to audio records of court proceedings via the FTR Cloud at $10.00 per transaction; 3) allow the State Court Administrator and Clerks of Court to waive the one free copy limit; and 4) identify individuals and entities that qualify for bulk data fee waivers.

CJA 4-403. Electronic signature and signature stamp use. Amend. The proposed amendments grant district, juvenile, and justice courts the discretion to authorize clerks to electronically sign or stamp additional document types without judicial review by issuing a standing order signed by the presiding judge of the district, or for justice courts, a local standing order pre-approved by the presiding justice court judge of the district. The amendments also specify when such authorization must be documented in writing in the case.

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Standing Committee on Appellate Representation – Comment Period Closed January 2, 2025

Rule 11-401. Standing Committee on Appellate Representation. Amend.

There are two amendments to this rule. The first amendment relates to the qualifications for the appellate rosters. The amendment adds a requirement that an attorney applying for the appellate rosters list and explain the reasons for all cases in which the attorney requested ten or more extensions for criminal cases, or two or more extensions for juvenile cases. The second amendment relates to the logistics and timing of the application and reapplication process for the appellate rosters.

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