Category: -Code of Judicial Administration

CJA03-0412. Procurement of goods and service. (Amend). The small purchase limits have been increased to $5,000 per item and up to $10,000 for an entire purchase.

CJA04-0208. Automated case processing procedures. (AMEND) HB 139, deferred traffic prosecution, goes into effect on October 1, 2022. The amendments authorize the Administrative Office of the Courts to develop a process for issuing automated orders in deferred traffic prosecution cases, similar to the clean slate expungement process. Removes definitions of terms that are not included in the rule.

CJA03-0108. Judicial assistance. (AMEND) HB 139, deferred traffic prosecution, goes into effect on October 1, 2022. The amendments allow the presiding officer of the Council to appoint a district court presiding judge as the signing judge for deferred traffic prosecution orders in all district courts within the presiding judge’s district with jurisdiction over eligible cases.

CJA04-0403. Electronic signature and signature stamp use. (AMEND) HB 139, deferred traffic prosecution, goes into effect on October 1, 2022. The amendments allow the electronic signature of a judge to be automatically affixed to orders related to deferred traffic prosecution cases.

CJA09-0107. Justice court technology, security, and training account. (AMEND). Following the creation of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, the approval process for allocations from the Justice Court Technology, Security and Training Account was modified. The proposed amendments codify a change in practice that was implemented a few years ago.

CJA04-0206. Exhibits. (Amend). For clarification purposes, “biological evidence” has been added to the non-exhaustive list of exhibits that will remain in the custody of parties during trial and a reference to Title 53, Chapter 20, Forensic Biological Evidence Preservation, has been added to paragraph (5) to draw parties’ attention to their responsibilities regarding disposal of biological evidence.

CJA03-0407. Accounting. (AMEND). The amendments to the rule address the following items:

1. Incorporate the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee (BFMC) into Rule 3-407 as an approval body for accounting manual updates. The original version of Rule 3-407 predated the creation of the BFMC.

2. Elevate and document the role of the clerks of court as reviewers and approvers of new and amended accounting manual policies, post review by the Accounting Manual Review Committee but before the BFMC. The clerks of court are performing this role today, the proposed amendment would simply incorporate current practice into policy. This change has been endorsed by Shane Bahr and Neira Siaperas.

3. Eliminate the court services representative on the Accounting Manual Review Committee as the elevation of the review by all clerks of court will more comprehensively address any role played by the old court services area which has been integrated into IT.

CJA01-0205. Standing and Ad Hoc Committees (AMEND). Creates a Standing Committee on Fairness and Accountability. Amends the membership of the Committee on Resources for Self-represented Parties, the Committee on Model Utah Criminal Jury Instructions, and the Committee on Court Forms.

CJA02-0103. Open and closed meetings (AMEND). Removes the requirement that the AOC send a separate notification to a newspaper of general circulation when the Judicial Council meeting agendas are posted on the Utah Public Notice Website. Clarifies that a Judicial Council meeting may be closed for discussions regarding legal advice of counsel.

CJA03-0420. Committee on Fairness and Accountability (NEW). Outlines the roles and responsibilities of the new Committee on Fairness and Accountability.

CJA04-0903. Uniform custody evaluations (AMEND). Limits the circumstances under which a custody evaluation can be ordered and outlines the training requirements of those who conduct custody evaluations.