Individuals in Utah Authorized to Perform Marriages Marriages can only be solemnized in Utah by the following people: ministers, rabbis, or any priest of a religious denomination older than 17; American Indian spiritual advisors; governor, mayors, or county executives; a justice, judge, or commissioner of a Utah or U.S. court; county clerks; or the president of the Senate or speaker…
Utah Police May Stop and Request Identification Utah police have expansive authority to briefly detain subjects for investigative purposes on information amounting to reasonable suspicion. It is proper for Utah law enforcement officers to demand identification from a person because the U.S. Supreme Court said that requesting identification of a person has a immediate relation to purpose, rational, and practical…
A Child’s Best Interest in Utah Adoption Cases Spain’s Actions in the Best Interest of Children A recent news story from Spain described a conspiracy that sounds too terrible to be true. The story describes that for decades, beginning in the 1950’s, Doctors, clergymen, and government officials had been stealing babies and giving them up to other people to raise…
Child Support and Custody in Utah Affected by Paternity Presumptions During Utah divorce proceedings, one contentious issue is child support and child custody. When a woman is unfaithful and becomes pregnant with another man’s child, the divorce proceedings only becomes more complicated regarding child support and child custody. The complication is due to paternity presumptions under Utah law. Paternity Presumptions…
Certain Utah Police Actions Constitute a Stop or Seize When a person is seized, that is to say stopped by a Utah police officer for something like a marijuana possession, the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution is implicated. When is a person actually considered seized or stopped under the fourth amendment though? Not every personal interaction between Utah police…
Utah Police Don’t Need Probable Cause to Stop and Frisk The amount of justification required for search or arrest in Utah is probable cause. Utah law enforcement performs many activities that do not reach the level of full scale intrusions such as search or arrest. Utah police routinely stop citizens on the street or pull them over while driving in…
Utah Common Law Marriage In 1987, Utah passed a common law marriage statute. The statute applies to marriages entered into after 1987. Prior to 1987, Utah did not recognize common law marriages so there could be no divorce of a common law marriage. The statute allows a court or administrative order to establish that a marriage was entered into. When…
Criminal Activity Cannot be Instigated by Police Sometimes law enforcement resorts to unusual means to investigate crimes such as prostitution where participants and witnesses are unlikely to come forward to report them. Undercover officers may pretend to be someone else to catch a person acting criminally. When the government crosses the line between investigating a crime and instigating it, the…
Probable Cause is Justification Probable cause is the measure of justification that is necessary for any full scale intrusions such as searches, seizures, and arrests. When Utah police officers act pursuant to a warrant, the determination of whether probable cause exists is made by a judge prior to the proposed invasive action. Utah law enforcement is permitted to act without…
Late last night in Lehi, Utah, a Woman was found dead in her car, with a man next to her in the passenger seat in critical condition. The car was parked in the driveway of the Woman’s in-laws house where she was reportedly picking up her children. The Woman’s estranged husband apparently went out the car where they got into an…
