In an effort to protect the constitutional rights of a criminal defendant, the Utah Legislature has set forth a procedure to inquire into the competency of a criminal defendant. Under our system of jurisprudence the mentally incompetent cannot stand trial for certain crimes. You have to be able to form the requisite mental intent to commit certain crimes and mental…
Divorce can bring financial instability quickly. This is especially true where one of the spouses stays home with the children. It become even more applicable in cases where the parties are extremely contentious with one another. We have represented individuals whose spouse clears out all of the bank account, retirement accounts, and other financial assets and left our client with…
Authority of the Department of Child and Family Services DCFS has the authority to address specific categories of conduct against minors, including abuse and neglect. Utah Code 62A-4a-103. and 62A-4a-105(1)(f). DCFS also has the authority to investigate reports of abuse or neglect to determine whether they are “supported, unsupported, or without merit.” Utah Code 62A-4a-409(3). DCFS acts on this authority…
Things just keep getting better for George Zimmerman. Now his wife is filing for divorce after six years of marriage. Apparently the problems between the two have been going on for some time. Shellie Zimmerman, like her husband, has had her own legal problems. She admitted to committing perjury in regards to the couple’s finances when addressing George’s bail hearing…
What is the Utah 90 Day Waiting Period? Utah has an interesting law. It requires that divorcing couples wait 90 days before the divorce can become final. Up until this year the 90 day waiting period was kind of a suggestion, not really a hard and fast rule. In fact, parties would file a motion to waive the 90 day…
Here’s a quick piece of information for today: The Utah County District Attorney’s office has an “office policy” of not giving pleas in abeyance. What’s a plea in abeyance? It’s a plea agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant that allows for the charges to be dismissed after the the defendant complies with agreed upon terms such as paying court…
Over the weekend a Utah County Deputy Sheriff died in a plane crash. Sgt. Jay Dee Lessley was the sole occupant of an experimental plane that he was testing. This morning at the Fourth District Court in Provo the Sheriffs deputies were sullen as they relayed the news to attorneys. This comes just days after a Draper City police officer…
State v. Vialpando The Utah Court of Appeals decided a DUI case entitled State v. Vialpando in 2004. In that case the court set forth some standards that apply to the admissibility of intoxilyzer breathtest results. First, the state has the burden to show that the intoxilyzer machine’s results are “reliable” and it can do that by presenting evidence of the following: (1)…
Looks like Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin, is on the slow road to divorce. The couple recently separated. There’s rumor that he is dating a much younger Google executive. Brin is one of the richest people in the world, worth about $22.8 billion. Needless to say, his soon to be ex will probably come away with plenty of money.
Just a quick tip for today: anything can be considered drug paraphernalia. More and more of our clients are reporting that the most basic of items such as straws, tinfoil, plastic bags, apples, and even paper cups are being considered paraphernalia. Be careful out there. Cops are charging people with misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia when they see anything they think…
