Utah

Chemerinsky: Has the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Fourth Amendment?

In the recently completed Supreme Court term, Utah v. Strieff was the only major decision where the conservatives prevailed in an ideologically divided case. The court held that evidence gained after an illegal police stop is admissible if the police learn of an outstanding arrest warrant and then conduct a…

Aug 2, 2016 8:30 AM CDT

Utah’s indigent defense system is underfunded and unconstitutional, ACLU suit alleges

A new lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union alleges that the state of Utah so drastically underfunds its indigent-defense system that it’s failing to meet its constitutional obligations to the state’s poor. The state ACLU and law firm Holland & Hart filed the proposed class action lawsuit Tuesday in…

Jun 23, 2016 3:45 PM CDT

Disbarment was too harsh for lawyer who caused courthouse disturbance, Utah Supreme Court says

A Utah lawyer who yelled obscenities as bailiffs escorted him from the courthouse and complained about a “sham” ethics hearing should not have been disbarred, the Utah Supreme Court has ruled. The court ruled last Thursday that a “lengthy suspension” was the appropriate punishment for the lawyer, John Ciardi, and…

Jun 15, 2016 9:15 AM CDT

Telling tenants to ‘friend’ landlord Facebook page in 5 days or lose lease was mistake, lawyer says

When tenants in a Salt Lake City apartment building discovered an unusual lease addendum taped to their doors last week, a number were irked. It said they had to “friend” the landlord’s Facebook page within 5 days, reports KSL, or be found in breach of the rental agreement with City…

Jun 1, 2016 3:35 PM CDT

Utah Supreme Court strikes down attorney fee schedule in workers’ comp cases

The Utah Supreme Court has struck down an attorney fee schedule for workers’ compensation cases and the law that authorized it. The court ruled on Wednesday in a case challenging the sliding-scale fees and a fee cap established by the Utah Labor Commission. The Legal Profession Blog has highlights from…

May 20, 2016 11:09 AM CDT

10th Circuit reverses bigamy-law win for ‘Sister Wives’ family

After a Utah family and their plural marriages became the subject of a TLC reality television show in 2010, local authorities in Lehi opened an investigation to see whether the Sister Wives family should be prosecuted for violating the state’s bigamy law. Kody Brown and his four wives (one legal,…

Apr 13, 2016 3:25 PM CDT

Utah is first state with registry for white-collar criminals

Convicted white-collar criminals in Utah who want to remove their names from a new state registry will have to pay court-ordered restitution in full. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes says the state’s new registry for white-collar criminals who don’t timely comply with court orders is a “carrot” for offenders to…

Mar 25, 2016 7:14 AM CDT

Suit accuses DC federal judge of coerced sex; he says retirement is due to disability

The chief judge of the federal court in Washington, D.C., told the White House on Wednesday that he is retiring in a letter that didn’t mention allegations of coerced sex aired in a lawsuit filed the same day. U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts attributed his retirement decision to a permanent…

Mar 17, 2016 7:37 AM CDT

Jury says towns dominated by polygamous sect put religion above the law; awards $2.2M to 6 people

After nearly two months of trial and three days of deliberation, on Monday a federal jury in Phoenix found that two adjacent towns dominated by a polygamous sect have violated the rights of nonbelievers living within their precincts. Discriminatory policing and provision of municipal services such as water hookups violated…

Mar 8, 2016 11:56 AM CST

Utah hosts first ‘CourtHack’ event, seeking solutions to court technology issues

Approximately 100 people on 15 teams, including a number of self-proclaimed nerds, gathered in Salt Lake City over the weekend for the first justice system hackathon ever held in Utah. Sponsored by the National Center for State Courts and HackerNest, the 22-hour event offered prizes of as much as $5,500…

Mar 7, 2016 2:50 PM CST

Woman who OK’d $900K settlement in phone call with her lawyer is bound by it, federal judge rules

The mother of a 22-year-old man shot to death in 2014 by police in a Utah city is bound by her oral agreement to a $900,000 settlement, a federal judge has ruled. Susan Hunt initially agreed to the pact in a recorded phone call with her lawyer. But she then…

Feb 23, 2016 1:05 PM CST

Utah judge who ordered baby removed from same-sex couple’s home retires

The Utah juvenile court judge who made headlines when he ordered a baby removed from a married same-sex couple’s home has retired, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Seventh District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen retired from the bench Friday, the newspaper said, according to a judicial vacancy announcement. An…

Jan 6, 2016 10:30 AM CST

Utah Supreme Court backs licensed paralegal practitioners

Corrected: The Utah Supreme Court has given the green light to allow licensed paralegal practitioners to help clients navigate the legal system, though the new professionals won’t be allowed to appear in court. The new LPP could help clients fill out legal forms, prepare settlements and represent them in mediated…

Dec 16, 2015 5:45 AM CST

Once a homeless teen herself, lawyer now offers pro bono advice to others

On the run at age 13 and homeless for three years after that, Nicole Lowe must have seemed an unlikely legal eagle to those who knew her at the time. But the onetime vagabond long ago turned her life around and is now both an attorney and the mother of…

Dec 15, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Judge in lesbian foster-parent case steps aside from further involvement

A Utah judge who ignited a firestorm of public criticism by setting a process in motion to remove a foster child from a same-sex couple, because they are not heterosexual, has now stepped aside from further involvement in the case. In a Monday order, 7th District Juvenile Judge Scott Johansen…

Nov 16, 2015 5:00 PM CST