Most criminal statutes in Utah list the elements that constitute the criminal offense and then classify it into one or more of 7 different categories or levels of criminal activity ranging from a capital offense to an infraction. In between these levels are felonies and misdemeanors which are the most common charges people face when being cited for criminal activity.…
A county sheriff in Minnesota went on the record claiming that there is a clear correlation between violent acts and marijuana. He backs up his statement by arguing that 54% of those individuals books into his jail are under the influence of marijuana. He states that around 40,000 people a year are booked into his jail and more than half…
You read the title of this blog correctly. This is the first we have ever heard of this but a man in Pennsylvania this week was charged with a DUI for driving a riding lawn mower while intoxicated and having an open beer on his John Deer (not sure if it was acutally a John Dee). Now as ridiculous as…
The RAND Corporation recently released a study showing, not surprisingly, that longer deployments overseas in the military lead to higher rates of divorce. The study was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice. Other past studies made similar conclusions showing a higher rate of divorce for veterans. There is little doubt, and most of us probably assumed any ways, that…
In Utah the administrative agency that deals with enforcing child support obligations is called the Office of Recovery Services (ORS). Most people are aware of child support as part of a divorce but there are other scenarios in which the ORS can get involved and enforce a child support obligation. For example when the parents of a child are not…
Is there really any privacy in a vehicle these days? Does the constitutional prohibition to unreasonable searches and seizures even apply to cars driven in Utah. One can answer these questions with an emphatic “NO!” because of Utah’s laws regarding vehicle searches and the odor of marijuana. Basically, if you get pulled over and a law enforcement officer smells marijuana,…
The Utah Court of Appeals recently decided State v. Binkerd, 2013 UT App 216 wherein the court addressed whether a defendant could be found guilty of accomplice liability for a general intent crime such as manslaughter. In Binkerd, the defendant was the head of a gang. His right hand man was Alvey. There was a female associate of their gang who they found…
Retail theft, or shoplifting as it is commonly referred to, has a separate criminal code section apart from other forms of theft, and it goes way beyond what most people would consider criminal. Theft in general is a very broad area of the law and has a number of...
Personal jurisdiction is at the foundation of every case brought in a Utah court. In family law cases, whether the court has personal jurisdiction over the parties is the first question that the court and the parties should ask. Utah family law cases often involve parties who live in states other than Utah. This becomes common because when couples split…
From the beginning of a contested divorce case in Utah the chances are that one or both parties will not like what the other party is doing. The court gets involved to establish some ground rules and puts in place temporary orders and then ultimately a final divorce decree. The order governs the parties’ actions. Although a party may not…
