Utah State Bar News & Announcements

Pursuant to §15-1-4, the post judgment interest for 2012 is 2.12%. This rate does not apply to judgments based on contracts or statutes specifying a different interest rate. This and rates for earlier years are published on the Court’s website at:
http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/intrates/interestrates.htm

JUDGE MCHUGH NAMED PRESIDING FOR COURT OF APPEALS

Salt Lake City, UT---Judge Carolyn B. McHugh has been named presiding judge for the Utah Court of Appeals for a two-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Judge McHugh replaces Judge James Z. Davis whose term has expired. Judge J. Frederic Voros Jr., has been named the associate presiding judge.

Salt Lake City, UT—More than 12,000 Utah children are impacted by divorce each year, including nearly 5,000 children in Salt Lake County. To address the needs of these children, the Utah State Courts offers a Divorce Education for Children class twice each month at no charge to participants. Classes take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. Following are the dates for upcoming classes: Jan. 14 and 23; Feb. 13 and 25; March 5 and 31.

Applications are now being accepted for two district court judge positions in the Third Judicial District (Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties). These positions result from the retirement of Judge Sandra N. Peuler and the pending retirement of Judge Tyrone E. Medley, June 30, 2012.

Completed application forms must be received by the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice no later than 5:00 pm, Monday February 13, 2012. Applicants will be considered for both vacancies unless CCJJ is otherwise notified by the applicant.

Application forms and the complete Announcement of Judicial Vacancy can be found at:
http://www.justice.utah.gov/ccjj_judicialvacancies.html

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT ROD SNOW

Lend a "Learned" Hand

We know that thousands of Utahns face significant legal issues impacting their personal and professional lives on a daily basis and in some instances face real harm to their safety and welfare. Ranging from domestic tragedies to employment threats and housing risks, too many are simply not financially able to get the legal assistance that they sorely need when they need it.

In our recently completed survey of Bar membership, we were thankful to learn that 70% of our lawyers are providing pro bono services on a monthly basis and 36% of you are making financial contributions to And Justice for All and other critical legal service organizations. We appreciate the great work being done by so many. While our economy has strained many of us since the middle of 2008, we have not felt the pain many of our citizens who are just above the poverty line have felt when they needed competent legal assistance,

The Bar’s Pro Bono Committee is nearing completion of its study of how legal services in the state can be better coordinated and how opportunities for pro bono work can be more directly identified and directed to attorneys who have volunteered to take a pro bono case. Our survey also suggested some of you felt you were not able right now to do more pro bono work. Many identified the pressures of billable hours as the greatest obstacle in keeping you from doing pro bono work. In the months to come, the Bar will be announcing our comprehensive statewide plan to get more pro bono help to more needy Utahns. We are excited about our work and hope it will help you find it easier to lend a “Learned” hand.

To quote from current ABA President, Bill Robinson, “Pro bono work helps our communities grow stronger, and it makes us better lawyers. We learn about fields outside our expertise. We develop new skills and sharpen those we already have. Then there are intangible things we learn, like leadership, judgment and empathy. When we volunteer time and expertise to assist the most vulnerable in our society, we help fulfill the promise of justice for all.” We also give real meaning to the phrase engraved on the front of our United States Supreme Court building, “Equal Justice Under the Law.”

Thank you for your service to those in need.

Postscript: The recent Bar Journal included a President’s Message on the important topic of diversity and inclusion. A photograph of Judge Raymond S. Uno was attached to the article, with a caption which should have stated that Judge Uno, “was interned at the Heart Mountain, Wyoming concentration camp.” Judge Uno is alive and well. We apologize for the error.

CHIEF JUSTICE DURHAM TO PRESENT
STATE OF THE JUDICIARY ADDRESS

WHAT:

2012 State of the Judiciary Address.

WHO:

The Honorable Christine M. Durham, Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court, will address the House and the Senate jointly.

WHEN:

Monday, January 23: House of Representatives at 2:15 p.m.

Senate at 2:45 p.m.

WHERE: Utah State Capitol

COPIES: Copies of Chief Justice Durham’s speech will be distributed to reporters at the Capitol at the start of the address. An electronic copy will be available at http://www.utcourts.gov/media/news/ following the address. As in previous years, the Chief Justice will be available to field media questions following her address to the Utah State Senate.

# # #

Sandy, Utah—Applications are being accepted for a Justice Court judge position in Sandy City. The position will replace Judge Donald Sawaya who is retiring Feb. 5, 2012.

To be considered for the position, candidates must be at least 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a Utah resident for at least three years, and have earned a high school diploma or GED. In addition, candidates must be a resident of the county in which the court is located—or an adjacent county—for at least six months.

Salt Lake, Utah—Applications are being accepted for a Justice Court judge position in Salt Lake County. The position will replace Judge Holly M. Barringham who resigned effective July 29, 2011.

To be considered for the position, candidates must be at least 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a Utah resident for at least three years, and have earned a high school diploma or GED. In addition, candidates must be a resident of the county in which the court is located—or an adjacent county—for at least six months.

The Judicial Council has approved amendments to the following Utah court rules. The amendments are effective April 1, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

Summary of amendments

CJA 03-0101. Judicial performance standards. New. Establishes standards of performance for minimum education and cases under advisement for application by the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission. Effective October 24, 2011.

CJA 04-0202.02. Records classification. Amend. Modifies records to be classified as sealed, private or protected. Identifies record series by casetype to be classified as sealed or private.

CJA 04-0202.04. Request to access a record associated with a case; request to classify a record associated with a case. Amend. Moves from Rule 4-202.02 to this rule descriptions of records that require judicial approval to classify as non-public.

CJA 04-0202.09. Miscellaneous. Amend. Requires a person filing a record with the court to identify the record as non-public if it qualifies as non-public.

CJA 04-0704. Authority of court clerks to extend payment schedule and dismiss citations. Amend. Allows clerks to dismiss citations as permitted in the Uniform Fine/Bail Schedule.

CJA 04-0907. Mandatory divorce education. Amend. Simplifies policy on access to divorce orientation courses and divorce education courses.

CJA 06-0401. Domestic relations commissioners. Amend. Makes amendments to conform to Rule of Civil Procedure 108.

CJA 06-0601 Mental health commissioners. Amend. Makes amendments to conform to Rule of Civil Procedure 108.

CJA Appendix I. Summary of Classification of Court Records. New. Summarizes the classification of record series by casetype.

How to view redline text of the approved amendments

To see the text and effective date of the amendments, click on this link to: http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/approved/ and then click on the rule number. All amendments are effective on the dates indicated. Updated versions of the rules will be posted to the main rules web page (http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/) on or about the effective date of the amendments.

The Judicial Council has approved amendments to the following Utah court rules. The amendments are effective April 1, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

Summary of amendments

CJA 03-0101. Judicial performance standards. New. Establishes standards of performance for minimum education and cases under advisement for application by the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission. Effective October 24, 2011.
CJA 04-0202.02. Records classification. Amend. Modifies records to be classified as sealed, private or protected. Identifies record series by casetype to be classified as sealed or private.
CJA 04-0202.04. Request to access a record associated with a case; request to classify a record associated with a case. Amend. Moves from Rule 4-202.02 to this rule descriptions of records that require judicial approval to classify as non-public.
CJA 04-0202.09. Miscellaneous. Amend. Requires a person filing a record with the court to identify the record as non-public if it qualifies as non-public.
CJA 04-0704. Authority of court clerks to extend payment schedule and dismiss citations. Amend. Allows clerks to dismiss citations as permitted in the Uniform Fine/Bail Schedule.
CJA 04-0907. Mandatory divorce education. Amend. Simplifies policy on access to divorce orientation courses and divorce education courses.
CJA 06-0401. Domestic relations commissioners. Amend. Makes amendments to conform to Rule of Civil Procedure 108.
CJA 06-0601 Mental health commissioners. Amend. Makes amendments to conform to Rule of Civil Procedure 108.
CJA Appendix I. Summary of Classification of Court Records. New. Summarizes the classification of record series by casetype.

The Supreme Court has approved amendments to the following Utah court rules. The amendments are effective December 22, 2011.

Summary of amendments

URCP 026.02 Disclosures in personal injury actions. New. Describes special disclosures in personal injury actions.

How to view redline text of the approved amendments

To see the text and effective date of the amendments, click on this link to: http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/approved/ and then click on the rule number. All amendments are effective on the dates indicated. Updated versions of the rules will be posted to the main rules web page (http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/) on or about the effective date of the amendments.

Salt Lake City, UT—The Utah State Courts are planning the 7th Annual “Judge for a Day,” program in recognition of Law Day, which is celebrated on May 1, 2012. On May 1, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the first Law Day as a day of national dedication to the principle of government under law.

Utah high school students are selected to participate in the program based on an essay, civic involvement resume, or teacher nomination letter. The topic, for students who choose to write an essay, is “The American Jury: We the People in Action.”