Utah Courts – Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment

Posted: September 19, 2023

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closes November 3, 2023

CJA06-0301. Authority of court commissioner as magistrate. (AMEND). Within the bounds of Utah Code section 78A-5-107 and constitutional limitations on the delegation of judicial authority, the proposed amendments broaden commissioners’ magistrate authority. The rule identifies the types of cases and matters court commissioners are authorized to hear and the types of relief and orders they may recommend. The rule also establishes timely judicial review of recommendations and orders made by a court commissioner.

CJA04-0202.08. Fees for records, information, and services. (AMEND). The proposed amendments 1) clarify that personnel time may be charged to copy records, 2) clarify that court appointed attorneys qualify for a fee waiver if they are requesting records on behalf of an indigent client and the client would qualify for a waiver, and 3) add a provision regarding bulk data. Bulk data fees and individual hourly rates removed from the rule would be posted on the court webpage.

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification. (AMEND)

CJA04-0202.03. Records access. (AMEND).

The proposed amendments classify video records of court proceedings, other than security video, as sealed and limit access to 1) official court transcribers for the purposes outlined in Rule 5-202, 2) court employees if needed to fulfill official court duties, and 3) anyone by court order. Individuals denied access may file a motion with the court under Rule 4-202.04.

Posted: August 29, 2023

Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closes October 13, 2023

URJP009. Detention hearings; scheduling; hearing procedure. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 9 include the addition of paragraph (o) allowing the juvenile court to review predisposition orders to detention every 30 days instead of every 7 days when there is concurrent jurisdiction in the district and juvenile courts or when a criminal information is pending in the juvenile court. The changes also include replacing the language “shall” with “must” or “will” to comply with the Supreme Court Style Guide.

URJP010. Bail for non-resident minors. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 10 include updating references to statute.

Posted: August 23, 2023

Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment Period Closes October 7, 2023

URCP056. Summary judgment. AMEND. The proposed changes to subparagraph (b) is aimed to provide clarity to the deadline for filing motions for summary judgment so as not to be dependent upon the close of discovery.

Posted: July 27, 2023

Rules of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closed September 10, 2023

RPC01.02. Scope of representation and allocation of authority between client and lawyer. Licensed paralegal practitioner notice to be displayed. AMEND. Clarifies the circumstances under which a lawyer may advise or assist a client with respect to Utah’s cannabis laws.

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.