Utah Courts – Page 13 – Utah Court Rules

Posted: December 20, 2011

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar

USB 14-0503. Ethics and Discipline Committee. Amend. Adds a vice chair to the Ethics and Discipline Committee and establishes a screening panel member removal process.
USB 14-0510. Prosecution and appeals. Amend. Provides that a judicial officer’s failure to address or report alleged attorney misconduct is not evidence that misconduct has or has not occurred. Establishes that a screening panel’s involvement in the diversion process ceases once the material terms of a diversion contract have been agreed to.
USB 14-0533. Diversion. Amend. Provides that OPC, as secretary to the screening panel, memorializes the diversion contract.

Petition to Create Ethics Advisory Opinion Safe Harbor.
USB 14-0504. OPC counsel. Amend. Prohibits OPC from prosecuting a lawyer for an act expressly authorized by an ethics advisory opinion. Provides that a court is not bound by an the interpretation of an ethics advisory opinion. Permits OPC to request that the ethics advisory opinion committee review, modify or withdraw an ethics advisory opinion. Permits OPC to request that the supreme court review, affirm, reverse or modify an ethics advisory opinion.

Posted: December 2, 2011

Rules of Civil Procedure

URCP 025. Substitution of parties. Amend. Clarifies that the notice of hearing on a motion to substitute parties must be served with the motion if the hearing has been scheduled by the time the motion is served.

Posted: December 2, 2011

Rules of Criminal Procedure

URCrP 007. Proceedings before magistrate. Amend. Implements the Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Hernandez, 2011 UT 70, requiring preliminary hearings in class A misdemeanors.
URCrP 036. Withdrawal of counsel. Amend. Requires counsel to include in a motion to withdraw a certification that withdrawal is consistent with the rules of professional conduct.

Posted: December 2, 2011

Code of Judicial Administration

CJA 03-0414. Court security. Amend. Removes from the rule certain architectural features for court facilities. Transfers some responsibilities from the TCEs and the Judicial Council to the Court Security Director. Regulates access keys and cards. Prohibits demonstrations inside a courthouse. Technical amendments.
CJA 04-0510.01 Alternative dispute resolution definitions. Renumber and amend. Replaces paragraph (1) of Rule 4-510. Retains the same definition of terms.
CJA 04-0510.02 Responsibilities of the Director and Administrative Office of the Courts. Renumber and amend. Replaces paragraphs (2) and (4)(A) of Rule 4-510. Retains the same responsibilities for program administration.
CJA 04-0510.03. Qualification of ADR providers. Renumber and Amend. Replaces paragraph (3) of Rule 4-510. Retains the same qualifications for ADR providers.
CJA 04-0510.04. ADR training. Renumber and Amend. Replaces paragraph (4) of Rule 4-510. Retains the same training qualifications and requirements.
CJA 04-0510.05 Referral of civil actions. Renumber and amend. Replaces paragraphs (5) through (16) of Rule 4-510.Modifies how cases involved in ADR are handled. Eliminates the requirement to view the ADR video.
CJA 04-0510.06 Cases exempt from ADR rules. Renumber and amend. Replaces the “Applicability” section Rule 4-510. Identifies the casetypes excluded from the ADR rules.
CJA 04-0904. Informal trial of support, custody and parent-time. New. Provides for an optional informal trial in which the parties present their cases in narrative form with questions by the judge.

Posted: October 26, 2011

Rules of Evidence

Utah Rules of Evidence Style Revision Project. Consistent with the restyling of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the language of these rules has been amended as part of the restyling of the Evidence Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. These changes are intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on evidence admissibility.
Comments are due November 16, 2011. The supreme court has approved an abbreviated comment period so that if the amendments ultimately are approved, they can be effective December 1, the same day as their federal counterparts.

Posted: October 26, 2011

Rules of Appellate Procedure

URAP 004. Appeal as of right: when taken. Amend. The amendment deletes the paragraph on notices of appeal filed by inmates, which provision is moved to Rule 21. The amendment also clarifies the time for filing a cross-appeal. The time begins from the date that the notice of appeal is docketed, rather than filed.
URAP 021. Filing and service. Amend. The amendment includes the provisions on filing notices of appeal by inmates. The amendments also clarify where filings are to be made and when filing is deemed accomplished.

Posted: October 26, 2011

Code of Judicial Administration

CJA 03-0101. Judicial performance standards. New. Establishes standards of performance for minimum education and cases under advisement for application by the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission. Effective October 24, 2011 under Rule 2-205. Subject to change after the comment period.
CJA 04-0704. Authority of court clerks to extend payment schedule and dismiss citations. Amend. Allows clerks to dismiss citations as permitted in the Uniform Fine/Bail Schedule.
CJA 04-0907. Mandatory divorce education. Amend. Simplifies policy on access to divorce orientation courses and divorce education courses.

Posted: October 9, 2011

Rules of Civil Procedure

URCP 026.02 Disclosures in personal injury actions. New. Described special disclosures in personal injury actions.
URCP 083. Vexatious litigants. New. Establishes the standards and procedures for declaring a person to be a vexatious litigant. Establishes management of cases involving vexatious litigants.

Posted: October 9, 2011

Code of Judicial Administration

CJA 04-0202.02. Records classification. Amend. Modifies records to be classified as sealed, private or protected. Identifies record series by casetype to be classified as sealed or private.
CJA 04-0202.04. Request to access a record associated with a case; request to classify a record associated with a case. Amend. Moves from Rule 4-202.02 to this rule descriptions of records that require judicial approval to classify as non-public.
CJA 04-0202.09. Miscellaneous. Amend. Requires a person filing a record with the court to identify the record as non-public if it qualifies as non-public.
CJA Appendix I. Summary of Classification of Court Records. New. Summarizes the classification of record series by casetype.

Posted: August 3, 2011

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar

USB 14-0704. Qualifications for admission of attorney applicants. Amend. Establishes qualification requirements for applicants from non-approved law schools. Effective July 14, 2011 under Rule 11-105(5). Subject to change after the comment period.
USB 14-0720. Qualifications for admission of house counsel applicants. Amend. Expands house counsel qualifications to include graduation from an unapproved law school that is accredited in the jurisdiction where it exists and that is the substantial equivalent of the legal education provided by an approved law school. Effective July 14, 2011 under Rule 11-105(5). Subject to change after the comment period.
Supreme Court Order
Petition to amend law student assistance rule.
USB 14-0801. Definitions. Amend. Technical amendment.
USB 14-0807. Law student assistance. Amend. Permits certain law school graduates to practice law before admission to the bar under certain circumstances.