Objecting to a Commissioner's Recommendation

Objecting to a commissioner's recommendation

If a party in a case disagrees with a commissioner's recommendation they can file an Objection to Commissioner's Recommendation under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 108.

Either party can file the objection, but they must do so within 14 days of the commissioner's recommendation.

Commissioners

In Judicial Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4, commissioners hear most matters in divorce, custody and other kinds of family law cases. A commissioner is a judicial officer who has the authority to review paperwork, hold hearings, gather evidence, and conduct settlement and pretrial conferences. They can also make recommendations to a judge, recommend sanctions and enter orders. A commissioner's recommendation is the order of the court unless or until it is modified by a judge.

Sometimes a commissioner will read aloud their recommendation at a hearing (in "open court"). Sometimes a commissioner may "take the matter under advisement" and issue a recommendation later.

Deadlines and process

There are deadlines for filing the objection.

The objection should:

• Clearly and briefly identify which part of the commissioner's recommendation the party disagrees with,
• Explain why the recommendation should be changed, and
• State what the party would like the recommendation to say instead.
• The objection works like a motion, which means:
• Some of the forms involved will say "motion," instead of "objection."
• The objection is decided by a judge.
• The judge will not rule on the objection unless one of the parties files a Request to Submit for Decision. The earliest this can be filed is 14 days after filing the objection, unless the other party stipulates to the objection.

   

This process is described in the Motions Decided by a Judge / Moving Party section of the Motions web page

Responding to an objection

If the other party wants to respond to the Objection to Commissioner's Recommendation, they must file a Memorandum Opposing the Objection within 14 days after the objection is filed.

The process and timelines are described in the Opposing party section of the Motions web page.  

Substantial change of circumstances

The judge will not consider any new evidence (evidence that was not presented with the original motion papers, or at the hearing) as part of the objection unless there has been a "substantial change of circumstances" since the commissioner's recommendation.

Hearing

Either party can ask for a hearing on the objection. If the hearing is about:

• a protective order,
• a motion to enforce order,
• custody issues, or
• Utah Code section 62A-15-601 et seq. (Utah State Hospital and Other Mental Health Facilities),

either party may ask to present testimony and other evidence on issues relevant to custody.

If the hearing is about other issues, the judge might allow testimony on those issues, but is not required to do so.

If a party does not request a hearing, the judge might hold a hearing anyway, or they might review the evidence that was presented to the commissioner and make a decision without a hearing. The judge can review what was presented at the hearing, whether the evidence was by proffer, testimony or exhibit.

Forms

The forms you need depend on your case. What is your case about?