Posted: July 28, 2020
Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice, Office of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closes September 11, 2020
The proposed amendments reflect the recommended reforms to lawyer discipline and disability proceedings and sanctions contained in the American Bar Association/Office of Professional Conduct Committee’s Summary of Recommendations (October 2018).
Posted: July 23, 2020
Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Extended to September 8, 2020
CJA03-0101. Judicial Performance Standards (AMEND)
CJA03-0104. Presiding Judges (AMEND)
CJA03-0111. Performance Evaluation of Senior Judges and Court Commissioners (AMEND)
The proposed amendments to Rules 3-101, 3-104, and 3-111 establish a definition for “submitted” for purposes of the case under advisement performance standard. The updates also provide discretion to the Council to excuse full compliance with the performance standards regarding cases under advisement and education hours for circumstances beyond the judge’s control, pursuant to Utah Code section 78A-2-223.
The comment period’s expiration is extended from July 25, 2020 to September 8, 2020. The original notice of comment period is found here.
Posted: July 22, 2020
Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closes September 5, 2020
URCrP016. Discovery. Amend. Distinguishes between mandatory disclosures, disclosures upon request, and trial disclosures. Creates a timing requirements for each. Clarifies attorney work product protection. Amends relief and sanctions for failure to disclose. Reorganizes identification evidence section.
Due to the extensive nature of the proposed amendments, both the redline text and a final version of Rule 16 are provided.
Posted: July 1, 2020
Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Comment Period Closes August 15, 2020
USB14-0205. Board.
USB14-0206. Officers.
Proposed changes update Bar Commissioner and Officer election procedures and remove obsolete procedures.
Posted: June 29, 2020
Rules of Juvenile Procedure and Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Comment Period Closes August 13, 2020
URJP050. Presence at hearings. Amended. Proposed changes permit and detail Indian tribes’ right to participate in court proceedings pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act.
USB14-0802. Authorization to practice law. Amend. Proposed changes permit Indian tribes, who have intervened in proceedings pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act, to have a designated nonlawyer represent them. Other technical and formatting changes are also included.
Posted: June 24, 2020
Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closes August 8, 2020
CJA01-0201. Membership – Election. AMEND – Makes changes to general provisions regarding election of Judicial Council members to implement in rule SB0167 from the 2020 general session.
CJA06-0102. Election of District Court judges to the Judicial Council. AMEND – Makes changes to provisions regarding election of District Court members of the Judicial Council to implement in rule SB0167 from the 2020 general session.
CJA07-0101. Juvenile Court Board, Executive Committee and Council Representatives.
AMEND – Makes changes to provisions regarding election of Juvenile Court members of the Judicial Council to implement in rule SB0167 from the 2020 general session.
Posted: June 18, 2020
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed August 2, 2020
URAP037. Suggestion of mootness; voluntary dismissal. Amend. The amendments to Rule 37 update the statutory reference related to declarations. These amendments were expedited on June 9, 2020 under Rule 11-105.
Posted: June 18, 2020
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed August 2, 2020
URAP003. Appeal as of right: how taken. Amend. The proposed amendments to Rule 3: (1) incorporate the advisory committee note into paragraph (f), (2) update the reference of a clerk transmitting a certified copy in paragraph (g)(1) to the current practice of emailing the notice of appeal, and (3) clarify and cleanup the language.
URAP008. Stay or injunction pending appeal. Amend. The Rule 8 proposed amendments: (1) amend paragraph (a) to parallel the federal Rule 8 except that only in extraordinary circumstances will an appellate court act on certain motions where the movant failed to request a stay or opposed an injunction in the trial court; (2) add requirements for bonds in paragraph (b); and (3) add new paragraph (c), which provides that for requests for relief to which Rules 65A or 62(c) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure applied in the trial court, any relief available pending appeal is governed by those rules.
Posted: June 17, 2020
Rules of Professional Conduct and Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Comment Period Closed August 1, 2020
Rules of Professional Conduct
Public Service
RPC06.05. Short-term Limited Legal Services. AMEND. Broadens the term “short-term legal services” to include one-time consultations and representations through government- and law school-sponsored programs. Further provides that other lawyers in a firm are not disqualified from representing clients whose interests are adverse to a client who received short-term limited legal services from a lawyer in the firm if (1) the lawyer who provided the services is timely screened from the adverse clients’ matters, and (2) receives no fees from those matters.
Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession
RPC08.04. Misconduct. AMEND. Provides that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct that is an unlawful, discriminatory, or retaliatory employment practice under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Utah Antidiscrimination Act. “Employer” means any person or entity that employs one or more persons. The amendments also provide that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to egregiously violate, or engage in a pattern of repeated violations, of the Standards of Professionalism and Civility if such violations harm the lawyer’s client or another lawyer’s client or are prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Rules Governing the Utah State Bar
Standards of Professionalism and Civility
USB14-0301. Standards of Professionalism and Civility. AMEND. Rule 8.4(h) makes the provisions of this rule mandatory for all lawyers. Amendments further provide that lawyers shall avoid hostile, demeaning, humiliating, or discriminatory conduct in law-related activities. Law-related activities include, but are not limited to, settlement negotiations; depositions; mediations; court appearances; CLE’s; events sponsored by the Bar, Bar sections, or Bar associations; and firm parties. Discriminatory conduct includes all discrimination against protected classes as those classes are enumerated in the Utah Antidiscrimination Act of 1965, Utah Code section 34A-5-106(1)(a), and federal statutes, as amended from time to time.
Posted: June 10, 2020
Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closed July 25, 2020
URJP021. Warrant of arrest or summons in cases under Section 78A-6-702 and Section 78A-6-703. AMENDED. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP022. Initial appearance and preliminary examination in cases under Section 78A-6-702. AMENDED. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP023. Hearing to waive jurisdiction and certify under Section 78A-6703: bind over to district court. AMENDED. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP023A. Hearing on conditions of Section 78A-6-702; bind over to district court. REPEALED. Rule 23A will be repealed because the underlying statute was repealed by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP044. Findings and conclusions. AMENDED. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.