CJA04-0202.02 – Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment

Posted: December 16, 2024

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closes 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.

Posted: August 30, 2024

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed October 14, 2024

CJA4-202.02. Records classification. AMEND. The proposed amendments reclassify probation progress/violation reports as protected records, classify “nonpublic restitution records” as sealed records in accordance with Utah Code, and update statutory references to account for the recodification of the Domestic Relations code.

CJA4-202.03. Records access. AMEND. The proposed amendments authorize the Utah Office for Victims of Crime (UVOC) to access sealed “nonpublic restitution records” to ensure the UVOC can fulfill its statutory obligations.

CJA6-104. District court water judges. AMEND. The proposed amendments clarify that the supervising water judge is responsible for reassigning water cases upon the retirement of a water judge.

Posted: December 20, 2023

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed February 3, 2024

CJA03-0108. Judicial assistance (AMEND). Authorizes the presiding officer of the Judicial Council to appoint a juvenile court presiding judge as the signing judge for automatic expungement orders in juvenile court cases within the presiding judge’s district.

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND)

CJA04-0202.03. Records access (AMEND)

*Note: Rule drafts include amendments approved by the Judicial Council on November 20, 2023, also effective January 1, 2024.

Amends records classification and access to certain juvenile court social records, juvenile court legal records, and adoption records to align with rules of procedure and Utah code. Amendments also allow attorneys representing individuals authorized access to adoption, expungement, and juvenile court social records to obtain copies of the records with a signed and notarized release.

CJA04-0208. Automated case processing procedures (AMEND). Expands the rule to encompass an automated expungement process for successful nonjudicial adjustments in juvenile court cases and prohibits judges from manually issuing automatic expungement orders outside of automated processes approved by the Judicial Council.

Posted: September 19, 2023

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed 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: April 24, 2023

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed June 8, 2023

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND). The proposed amendments update statutory references and include three substantive changes:

Classifies records related to Court Commissioner Conduct Committee and Council actions under CJA Rule 3-201.02 as “private,” except for public censures by the Judicial Council.
Safeguards contact information in domestic cases upon request, if the individual’s contact information has been safeguarded in a protective order or stalking injunction action under (8)(A) or in the cases listed under (8)(B).
In response to S.B. 93, classifies:
- sex designation records for both minors and adults as “private;”
- name change records for both minors and adults as “public,” and
- records in cases involving both a name change and a sex designation change, for minors and adults, as “private” (with a few exceptions).

Posted: August 23, 2022

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed October 7, 2022

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification. (AMEND) Currently, the rules are unclear as to what happens to a record previously designated as sealed if it is included in the overall record on appeal. The proposed amendment would allow sealed records to remain sealed even if included in the record on appeal. Records may be unsealed by court order.

Appendix B. Justice Court Standards for Recertification. (AMEND) Code of Judicial Administration Rule 9-108 requires that justice court standards be reviewed and updated every two years. The proposed amendments are intended to streamline the appendix, provide clarity, and incorporate recent statutory amendments.

Posted: September 28, 2021

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed November 12, 2021

CJA02-0101. Rules for the conduct of Council meetings. (AMEND)

CJA05-0101. The Board of Appellate Court Judges. (AMEND)

CJA06-0101. The Board of District Court Judges. (AMEND)

CJA07-0101. Juvenile Court Board, Executive Committee and Council Representatives. (AMEND)

CJA09-0101. Board of Justice Court Judges. (AMEND)

The proposed amendments remove the requirement to follow Robert’s Rules. Use of Robert’s Rules isn’t required under the Open and Public Meetings Act.

CJA03-0303. Justice court clerks. (AMEND)

In conjunction with the Judicial Institute, the Board of Justice Court Judges recommends adding an annual certification requirement for justice court clerks.

CJA03-0117. Committee on Court Forms. (AMEND)

CJA03-0401. Office of General Counsel. (AMEND)

The proposed amendments make the rules consistent with CJA 1-205(3)(D) and CJA 1-204(8), providing the State Court Administrator with the flexibility to assign AOC resources where appropriate.

CJA03-0411. Grant Management. (AMEND)

The proposed amendments outlines significant changes to the courts’ grant management program.

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification. (AMEND)

A working group is preparing a new form on petitions to determine competency. The form will have two parts (1) the petition without confidential information and (2) a statement in support that includes confidential information. The proposed amendment in line 189 would ensure the statements in support are classified as private.

*The proposed amendment in line 169 went out for public comment in July. It is included here for tracking purposes only.

https://legacy.utcourts.gov/utc/rules-comment/2021/06/02/code-of-judicial-administration-comment-period-closes-july-17-2021-2/

CJA04-0208. Automatic expungement of cases. (NEW)

New rule 4-208 governs the Administrative Office of the Court’s development and implementation of an automated expungement process. The rule requires approval by the Judicial Council of all automated processes and approval of the form and content of automated orders. Processes must also meet any requirements under the Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Posted: June 2, 2021

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed July 17, 2021

CJA01-0205. Standing and ad hoc committees (AMEND). Amends membership on the Standing Committee on Pretrial Release and Supervision.

CJA03-0419. Office of Fairness and Accountability (NEW). Establishes the Office of Fairness and Accountability, and identifies the duties of the Director and the objectives of the Office.

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND). Clarifies that minors’ names are only public in criminal cases if the minor is a party. This is not a change, the language is simply intended to clear up confusion on the issue.

CJA04-0206. Exhibits (AMEND). Significantly bolsters uniform procedures for the marking, receipt, maintenance, and release of exhibits. Provides courts with the discretion to extend applicability to any proceeding in which exhibits are introduced.

CJA04-0401.02. Possession and use of portable electronic devices (AMEND). Allows JPEC continued use of recordings to evaluate the performance of justice court judges subject to a basic evaluation.

Posted: October 26, 2020

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed December 10, 2020

CJA04-0202.02. Records Classification (AMEND). Clarifies that all records related to determinations of indigency are private records.

CJA04-0403. Electronic signature and signature stamp use (AMEND). Authorizes judges’ electronic signatures to be automatically affixed to automatic expungement orders.

Posted: August 10, 2020

Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed September 24, 2020

CJA04-0202.02. Records Classification (AMEND). Minor’s names will be public in stalking injunctions. Reflects current practice.

CJA06-0507. Court Visitor (NEW). New rule outlining the appointment and role of court visitors, and establishing a process for review of court visitor reports.

CJA03-0407. Accounting (AMEND). Clarifies that “bail” refers to “monetary bail.” Amends examples of trust accounts to reflect the most common fund types.

CJA04-0609. Procedure for obtaining fingerprints and Offense Tracking Numbers on defendants who have not been booked in jail (AMEND). Clarifies that “bail” means release.

CJA010-01-0404. Attendance and assistance of prosecutors in criminal proceedings (AMEND). Clarifies that “bail” refers to “monetary bail.”

CJA04-0401.01. Electronic media coverage of court proceedings (AMEND). Clarifies that the rule applies to viewing proceedings by remote transmission. Eliminates the requirement for pool coverage. Any media who register may attend. Electronic access may be terminated for violations of the rule.

CJA04-0401.02. Possession and use of portable electronic devices (AMEND). Defines court proceedings. Prohibits individuals from recording or photographing remote proceedings.