Ariel Castro, the guy in Ohio who kidnapped three women and kept them prisoner for years, was sentenced to 1,000 years in prison after one of the women miraculously escaped. Figuring he wouldn’t make it that long, he decided to hang himself with a bed sheet. Castro was in protective custody, not in the “genpop” of the prison. He was…
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Motion Practice in Utah Family Law Cases
Family law cases in Utah are considered civil litigation, but they operate a little differently when it comes to filing motions. What is a Motion? A motion is a request for relief made to the court. Motions are generally written briefs that are filed with the court. The party filing the motion is called the “moving party.” The non-moving party…
Assault Against School Employees | Utah Defense Attorney
Specific Groups are Protected by Utah Law Utah law usually describes criminal offenses as applying broadly to all people. There are some Utah laws, however, that protect special groups of people because Utah state legislators feel these people deserve special protection. One such group receiving special protection are school employees. The Utah criminal code contains special provisions regarding crimes and…
Class for Utah Kids Whose Parents Are Divorcing or Divorced
The Third District Court in Salt Lake City provides a free divorce education class for children ages 9 to 12 years old whose parents are going through a divorce or are already divorced. The class is given at the Matheson Courthouse downtown and is taught by a licensed mental health professional. The program is planned to expand to the Second…
Custody Evaluations and the Custody Evaluation Conference
In Utah divorce cases that involve hotly disputed custody issues, the court often orders the party to undergo a custody evaluation with a qualified individual who has specialized training in determining the best interests of a child. The Custody Evaluation When parties are ordered to do a custody evaluation they are also ordered to cooperate with the evaluator so that…
Settlement Reached In Paula Deen Law Suit
You may have seen Paul Deen in the news for quite a while now. Most of us are probably tired of all the Paula controversy going back and forth. Well the good news for Paula Deen is most of her legal troubles are coming to an end. The racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Paula Deen by one…
Utah Leads Nation in Federal Marijuana Convictions on Public Lands
Last month, the Salt Lake Tribune published an interesting story describing the high number of federal drug possession convictions which occur each year in the state of Utah. The majority of these federal drug crimes occur on public lands. Last year alone, over 165 people in Utah were charged with drug possession on federal lands, mostly in the big state parks…
Woman Pays Her Divorce Settlement in Pennies
You can probably imagine that her marriage was not the happiest. A Nebraska woman decided to pay her ex husband $50 in pennies after a judge ordered her to pay a total divorce settlement of $50. She also mixed the pennies with rice and beans and put them in tupperware type containers. Although entertaining and kind of funny, it probably…
Utah Statute of Limitations Tolled if Criminal Defendant is Out of State
Criminal Statute of Limitations Utah Code 76-1-304 sets forth how the statute of limitations is tolled if the a criminal defendant is out of state during the limitations period: “[T]he period of limitation does not run against any defendant during any period of time in which the defendant is out of the state following the commission of an offense.” State v.…
How A Felony Affects A Nursing License Application in Utah
The Utah Legislature has taken a hard line against registered nurses who are convicted of felonies. In fact, even a felony plea in abeyance has serious adverse consequences to applying for a nursing license in Utah. Under Utah statutes (Utah Code 58-31b-302), a nursing license is conditional on a criminal background check. When a nurse applies for a license through…