Utah Bar Journal

Utah Enacts the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act ("UECA")

by Steven J. Christiansen

Earlier this year, Utah State Senator Lyle W. Hillyard introduced Senate Bill No. 153 entitled, "Uniform Environmental Covenants Act" ("UECA"Ó). S.B. 153 was enacted during the 2006 General Session of the Utah Legislature and should be of interest to anyone involved with real property or environmental issues in the State of Utah.

Bankruptcy Alternatives in the Face of Recent Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act

by J. Robert Nelson

I. Introduction
More than a year has passed since enactment of the well publicized Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (the "Amendments") and six months since key provisions actually took effect. The Amendments appeared to make personal bankruptcies more complicated and less accessible. As to business bankruptcies, the Amendments seemed to reduce the leverage of debtors in chapter 11 reorganizations. The last six months would suggest that, as to personal bankruptcies, the Amendments have had the anticipated effect. Compared with the pre-Amendments period, personal bankruptcies are down dramatically.1 As to business reorganizations, it is still too early to assess whether the Amendments will, as has been speculated, materially change some dynamics.

Tax Matters: Statutes of Limitation

by Paul K. Savage

Some taxpayers still haven't recovered from their disappointment that the computers at the IRS didn't explode when the calendar rolled over to 2000, but we should all be thankful they did not. Government snafus seldom result in good news for citizens, despite the hopes and prayers of many that somehow the IRS wouldn't be able to collect taxes in the new millennium. Instead, each year taxpayers still have to count all the chickens that finally hatched in order to calculate how much Uncle Sam can lay claim to. We start our calculations by determining our gross income. Congress has defined gross income in broad terms as "all income from whatever source derived" and then provided a non-exclusive laundry list of examples, such as compensation for services, business income, interest, rents, royalties, dividends, alimony, etc. (See Section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code, hereafter "IRC"). It seems pretty simple on its face, until one realizes that hundreds of additional sections of code also come into play, not to mention the thousands of pages of regulations and rulings and innumerable interpretive court decisions.

Why Lawyers Matter

by R. Clayton Huntsman

A few weeks ago I had the honor of attending my daughter Sonia's graduation services at Willamette Law School in Salem, Oregon. The dean, and then Willamette's president, spoke to us, with a refreshing absence of cliche or braggadocio, focusing on honoring the new law school graduates and praising the profession of law. As each spoke, I couldn't help but silently assess my own legal career, soon to begin its fourth decade. As I reflected I renewed my own gratitude for the opportunity of practicing law, and reaffirmed an appreciation of our legal system and for those who labor hard in so many ways to improve and maintain it. I was pleased that another generation of accomplished and motivated lawyers was joining us, with all of their hopes for, and good faith toward, their futures.

Mr. Gray Goes to Washington

by Brett J. DelPorto and Jeffrey S. Gray

MR. GRAY: ...[T]he defendants in this case were the adults inside the home.

JUSTICE STEVENS: Oh, they charge that the adults were intoxicated.

MR. GRAY: Yes.

JUSTICE STEVENS: Well, thatÕs a serious crime in Utah I guess. (Laughter.)

MR. GRAY: We anticipated that comment actually. (Laughter.)

JUSTICE STEVENS: And what's your response?

When Jeff Gray first announced he was appealing Brigham City v. Stuart to the United States Supreme Court, the response from colleagues in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Utah Attorney General's Office was immediate. Congratulations. The obligatory "high five." Some even named Jeff as a personal hero.1

Vol. 19 No. 5 Sep/Oct 2006

PDF Version: http://www.utahbar.org/barjournal/pdf/2006_sept_oct.pdf

Cover Art Information: COVER: Wheeler Canyon in September, by first time contributor Nathan Lyon, Weber County Attorney's Office.

* Mr. Gray Goes to Washington
* Why Lawyers Matter
* Tax Matters: Statute of Limitations
* Bankruptcy Alternatives in the Face of Recent Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act
* Utah Enacts the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act ("UECA")
* Crimes, Truth and Videotape: Mandatory Recording of Interrogations at the Police Station
* Utah Law Developments: Recent Developments in Criminal Investigation and Discovery: Access, Disclosure and Use of Information in the Criminal Defense Realm
* Utah Law Developments: Antitrust Immunity for Utah's Political Subdivisions: The Utah Supreme Court's Opinion in Summit Water v. Summit County
* Standards of Professionalism & Civility: Standard 20 - Just Doing the Right Thing
* Paralegal Division: Message From the Chair