In 1968 the United States Supreme Court decided the case Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1. From that case is what came to be known as the Terry Stop Exception to the Fourth Amendment. This exception permits a policeman who lacks probable cause but whose observations lead him reasonably to suspect that someone is committing a crime, or just committed a crime,…
Temporary Custody Orders Are Entered with Little Information A lot of people have the misconception when going into a divorce case that a temporary order awarding one spouse sole custody of the children will ultimately result in the same ruling as a permanent custody order. People should not jump to this conclusion because it is not true. Temporary custody orders…
In Utah, scientific evidence can be admitted in a case if it satisfies a four prong test: necessity, reliability, understandability, and importance. The Utah Supreme Court set forth the test for each of these factors in State v. Rimmasch, 775 P.2d 388 (Utah 1989). Necessity – The thing a court must address is whether there is any necessity at all for…
Getting accused of a crime is not cheap. Take a DUI for example. When you get arrested your car gets impounded. You have to pay for your vehicle to be towed and impounded. You have to hire a lawyer. If you’re found guilty or you enter into a plea arrangement, you’ll have stiff fines that you have to pay. If…
If your spouse is refusing to follow any of the terms of a court order, whether that be a divorce decree, custody order, temporary order, or otherwise, he or she could potentially be held in contempt of court. Your ex may be held in contempt if a judge finds they consistently refused to follow court orders. In order to find…
The crime of sexual abuse of a child seems to indicate that the crime is sexual in nature, but when one looks at the elements of the crime that does not necessarily have to be true. The first elements of this crime is that the defendant must have touched “the anus, buttocks, genitalia, or breast of a female child.” In…
A justification defense refers to a principle in the law where, although a defendant committed a certain criminal act, he/she should not be punished because the circumstances justify the action. Generally speaking they are 8 common justification defenses that may absolve someone of criminal activity. These 8 defenses are summarized below: Self Defense – A person may defend themselves and…
Back in 1998 the Utah Court of Appeals decided a case, Griffith v. Griffith, 959 P.2d 1015 (1998), which sheds a lot of light on how a spouse’s side jobs, annual bonuses, and the use of a company car. The wife in that case appealed after the trial court refused to consider those three things in husband’s income for purposes of…
Lawful Arrest Resisting arrest, or interference with an arresting office, is a crime that gets tacked on as an additional offense for any defendant who didn’t just roll over for the cops. If you are a suspect for a crime and you argue with a law enforcement officer, for example, you run a real risk of getting hit with resisting…
Here are a few of the highlights from last week’s legislative session: Raising the Age Limit for Smoking A handful of Utah lawmakers have been pushing a bill to raise the legal age limit for smoking and tobacco use from 19 to 21, and it looks like the bill is gaining traction. Last week, SB12 introduced by Senator Daniel Thatcher…
