The Utah Public Transit District Act defines public transit, which public transit districts may employ or contract with law enforcement officers, and what jurisdictions the law enforcement officers cover.

First, public transit is defined as "the transportation of passengers only and their incidental baggage by means other than:
(a) chartered bus;
(b) sightseeing bus;
(c) taxi; or
(d) other vehicle not on an individual passenger fare paying basis." Utah Code 17B-2a-802.

Second, only multicounty districts ("public transit district located in more than one county") can employ or contract with law enforcement officers. Utah Code 17B-2a-822. Those officers have the same duties and responsibilities as other law enforcement officers, as defined in the Public Safety Code at 53-13-103.

However, the transit police officer's jurisdiction is limited to transit facilities and transit vehicles, except for other jurisdiction that is discussed in the Public Safety Code at 53-13-103. The Utah Code specifically defines a transit facility as "a transit vehicle, transit station, depot, passenger loading or unloading zone, parking lot, or other facility:
(a) leased by or operated by or on behalf of a public transit district; and
(b) related to the public transit services provided by the district, including:
(i) railway or other right-of-way;
(ii) railway line; and
(iii) a reasonable area immediately adjacent to a designated stop on a route traveled by a transit vehicle." Utah Code 17B-2a-802.

Transit vehicle is defined as "a passenger bus, coach, railcar, van, or other vehicle operated as public transportation by a public transit district." Utah Code 17B-2a-802.

For more information, check out UTA's Public Safety page.

However, in Salt Lake City, the "mutual commitment registry" is available "for adult residents of the City who share a primary residence and rely on one another as dependents." The registry is set up so employers can easily determine who is eligible for benefits and allow people health care visitation rights in Salt Lake City health care facilities. Eligibility requirements for the registry include:
(a) Registrants must be each other’s sole partner;
(b) be over 18 years old;
(c) be competent to contract; and
(d) share a primary residence in Salt Lake City.
For more information, check out the City's mutual commitment registry page.

If you live outside of Salt Lake City, you may be eligible for domestic partnership benefits as offered by your private employer. For example, if you are employed by American Express in Utah, the company's human resources policy would apply to your eligibility of benefits. See, for example, the company's statement about who is eligible for medical, dental and vision plans.

Child labor laws are found in both Utah and federal laws, and employers must ensure they are not violating any of these laws if and when employing an individual under 18. The Utah Labor Commission has information about the types of employment minors may be hired for, and the Utah Code discusses very specific tasks that are permitted for minors in different age categories.

For example, with consent of the child's parent or guardian, a minor of any age may perform agricultural work and home chores. U.C.A. 34-23-207.

Children ages 10 and older may deliver newspapers, shine shoes, caddy, or perform lawn maintenance without power-driven equipment. U.C.A. 34-23-206.

Besides the types of employment listed in the Utah Code, the Labor Commission has determined that 17 occupations are too hazardous for any minors of any age to perform. The hazardous occupations include roofing, excavating, and operating a meat processor. Click here to see the entire list.

Cartoon Credit: Stu Rees at www.stus.com

In Utah, a person is deemed to be dead if the person has experienced
(a) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions; or
(b) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem.
A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards. U.C.A. §26-34-2

When someone dies, there is a clear hierarchy of survivors who may determine the location and manner of disposition of the dead body. If the deceased has listed someone in their will (or other written instrument) and followed the other statutory requirements, that person makes the determination of disposition. If no one has been listed in a will, the surviving spouse is next in line, and then the decedent's child or majority of the decedent's children. Check out U.C.A. §59-9-602 to find out who is next in line to make the determination of disposition.

But what happens if there is a dispute about what to do with the body? The legislature has provided the probate court six factors to consider when resolving this type of dispute. The six factors are:
(1) the reasonableness and practicality of the proposed funeral arrangements and disposition;
(2) the degree of the personal relationship between the decedent and each of the persons claiming the right of disposition;
(3) the desires of the person or persons who are ready, able, and willing to pay the cost of the funeral arrangements and disposition;
(4) the convenience and needs of other families and friends wishing to pay their respects;
(5) the desires of the decedent; and
(6) the degree to which the funeral arrangements would allow maximum participation by all who wish to pay their respects. U.C.A. §58-9-605

A body may be exhumed when death occurred in certain circumstances and no determination of cause and manner of death was made by a medical examiner. U.C.A. §26-4-7 and §26-4-12.

Regarding exhumation for another reason, the Supreme Court of Utah has stated that "it is therefore a sound and well-established policy of the law that a person, once buried, should not be exhumed except for the most compelling reasons." Matter of Mayer's Estate, 577 P.2d 108, 110-111 (1978).

For example, in Salt Lake City, you must first apply for a permit from the office of animal services in order to raise chickens and the fee is $5/animal. Salt Lake City Code 8.08.010. A permit will not be granted for more than 25 chickens. Salt Lake City Code 8.08.020. Different rules apply to people who want to raise chickens for commercial purposes. However, no animals may be housed closer than 50 feet from a building used for human habitation. Salt Lake City Code 8.08.060.

Another example of local laws regarding chickens is found in the Brigham City Code. Brigham City residents may keep up to six chickens but the chicken coop may not be larger than 50 cubic feet per household. Brigham City Code 4.01(16).

Another example is found in the Vernal City Code. In Vernal, if property has been zoned RA-1 (residential-agricultural), up to 25 chickens may be kept on a lot that is at least 20,000 square feet. Vernal City Code 16.38.020. However, if other animals are kept on the same lot, that number decreases.

To find your city or county code, begin at the Utah.gov page and then select your city or county. Once directed to the city or county's page, you'll need to locate the code. Local codes are sometimes referred to as "municipal ordinances" or simply "ordinances." If you can't locate the code online, contact your local government.

Photo Credit:

The article was published in The Green Bag, "an entertaining journal of law." Archived articles are available online, dating back to Winter 2008. Besides publishing articles that are much less serious than the average legal journal, the Green Bag is known for giving away bobbleheads of U.S. Supreme Court Justices to some of its subscribers. The most recent bobblehead created by the Green Bag was Justice Souter.

Note that annulment laws differ from state to state. You must consult the laws of Utah to determine if you meet any of the criteria for annulment. Even if any or all of the grounds for annulment exist, it is still in the judge's discretion whether or not to grant the annulment.

The grounds for annulment include:
* Where the marriage is prohibited or void under Title 30, Chapter 1, Section 2, which deals with age requirements, prior marriages and divorces, and persons of the same sex.
* Where the marriage is incestuous, and therefore void.
* Common law grounds include fraud, misrepresentation, and failure to consummate the marriage.

Utah laws make no mention of a minimum or maximum amount of time for a marriage to have existed in order to petition the court for an annulment.

At this time, no Court-approved annulment paper work is available. If you find sample pleadings online, you should consult the Rules of Civil Procedure to ensure your documents conform to Court Rules. You should also consider consulting with an attorney, whether at a free legal clinic or through paid representation.

The Marriott Library at the University of Utah has been scanning Utah newspapers since 2001, and thanks to a new donation of archives of the Salt Lake Tribune by its parent company, MediaNews Group, the Marriott Library can eventually digitize the Tribune dating back to 1871.

In the Tribune article announcing the donation, the author notes that not only did the Marriott receive approximately 100,000 issues of the Tribune, the donation included now-defunct publications, including the Junior Tribune, Salt Lake Telegram, and Intermountain Republic .

Digitized newspapers are an important resource for historical legal research. When researching Utah's Constitution or the transition from the Territory of Utah to a state, newspapers provide a glimpse into the issues and concerns of the general public, as well as controversies. Use the Utah Digital Newspapers site to search numerous newspaper titles from around the state (coverage varies). You can search the entire digitized collection, or specify which titles you would like to search. Additionally, advanced search options allow you to search by proximity or in certain fields.

The Department of Public Safety publishes an approved fireworks list each year. This year's list was last revised on July 1, 2009.

In addition to state law, many local ordinances list rules regarding fireworks. To find out if your city or county has a local ordinance about fireworks, locate the local municipality you want to check, and then determine if the local ordinance is available to search online. If it isn't, contact the local city or county clerk.

• In either program, enter both a last name and first name to search. Searching by a last name only will match that last name with any first name. This may result in thousands of matched results, especially if it's a common last name like Smith.
• In either program, use the * symbol after the first name to catch any variation using that name. Court records may have recorded a party's first name using a middle initial, full middle name, or with no middle name at all. You can even use the * after the first few letters of a first name or last name if you are unsure of spelling.
• In CORIS, case result tables show cases in gray or bold. Grayed cases are closed, while bolded cases are still open.
In Xchange, you can narrow your search by any date range.

This Nolo book covers topics including talking to the police, search and seizure, arrest, eyewitness identification, book and bail, criminal defense lawyers, criminal court, arraignments, discovery, fundamental trial rights, basic evidence rules, plea bargains, sentencing, appeals, juvenile courts and prisoners' rules.

Our Law Books for Non-Lawyers handout lists other self-help books we have in the library.

Many public libraries carry Nolo titles - check your local library catalog to see if they have this or other books written for non-lawyers.

To review a list of those laws, go to the Utah Legislature's Bills Passed page. Next, select the 2009 General Session or the 2009 First Special Session. Click on the Effective Date column header to sort the list by effective date and scroll down to the listings for July 1, 2009.

The 2009 Digest of Legislation provides a subject index of passed legislation, and summary of each bill for the 2009 General Session.

Bills, or portions of bills, effective today include:

S.B. 272 (Second Substitute): Driver License Sanctions and Sentencing Requirements for Driving Under the Influence and Alcohol Related Offenses

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/07/2009_laws_effective_july_1_200.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/07/2009_laws_effective_july_1_200.html Legal Research Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:51:07 -0700 Planning ahead for physical and mental incapacity is an important issue for all of us. Utah law provides suggested forms and instructions for advance health care directives and the appointment of an agent to make health care decisions for an adult who loses the capacity to communicate. You can link to Utah’s forms and more information at http://aging.utah.edu/utah_coa/directives/ , or directly from the court website at http://www.utcourts.gov/howto/seniors/#Advance.

The Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services provides information and forms about advance health care decision making including a very useful Tool Kit that helps people think through their wishes and how to express them in meaningful ways. Go to http://www.hsdaas.utah.gov/advance_directives.htm

Utah law also provides for a mental health directive to help people with mental illness plan ahead for such tough decisions as commitment to treatment and medications. Go to more information on the Nami Utah Web site at http://www.namiut.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=52, or view Utah’s laws and sample Declaration for Mental Health Treatment form at Utah Code 62A-15-1001 to 1004, http://le.utah.gov/UtahCode/section.jsp?code=62A-15.

On the national front, the Secretary of Health and Human Services sent a comprehensive report to Congress this week entitled “Advance Directives and Advance Care Planning.” The report, requested by Congress in 2006, focuses on (1) the best ways to promote the use of advance directives and advance care planning among competent adults as a way to specify their wishes about end-of-life care; and (2) addressing the needs of persons with disabilities with respect to advance directives. You can link to the report at http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2008/ADCongRpt.htm. It includes an excellent literature review on every aspect of advance care planning, analyses of key ethical and legal issues, and a discussion of opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of advance care planning and advance directives.
The report is particularly timely as health care reform is in the public policy forefront, and several bills are pending in Congress regarding advance care planning and improving care near the end of life.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/advance_health_care_decision_m.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/advance_health_care_decision_m.html Self-Help Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:06:59 -0700 The May/June issue of the Utah Bar Journal has an article by our own Mari Cheney describing Web 2.0 tools for Utah attorneys.

Mari explains the difference between blogs, Twitter and other social networking tools, and provides links to resources. Read all about it!

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/web_20_for_utah_lawyers.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/web_20_for_utah_lawyers.html Legal Research Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:40:15 -0700 We've just received the latest edition of The Employer's Legal Handbook.

This Nolo book covers topics including hiring, personnel practices, wages and hours, employee benefits, taxes, family and medical leave, health and safety, illegal discrimination, workers with disabilities, termination, employee privacy, independent contractors, and unions.

Our Law Books for Non-Lawyers handout lists other self-help books we have in the library.

Many public libraries carry Nolo titles - check your local library catalog.

]]> http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_book_the_employers_legal_h.html http://www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary/blog/2009/06/new_book_the_employers_legal_h.html New Books Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:50:23 -0700