Trend Toward a “Good Divorce” Recently some high profile celebrity divorces have raised some attention to what has been called the “good divorce,” that is, a divorce where the former spouses stay friends, continue to spend time together as a family, and otherwise make the transition from married to divorced as smooth and painless as possible. For example, Ben Affleck…
What is Rule 412? Rule 412 of the Utah Rules of Evidence prohibits the admission of evidence, in criminal cases alleging sexual misconduct, of the victim’s past sexual behavior or predisposition. For example, in a rape case, the defendant cannot introduce evidence that the victim is sexually promiscuous, has had many sexual partners, etc. There are only three exceptions to…
The Armed Career Criminal “Armed career criminal” – sounds pretty serious, right? Well for purposes of federal criminal law it most definitely is. The term applies to a select group of individuals who the federal government find to need more prison time than other convicted felons. If the moniker “armed career criminal” is applied to a criminal defendant during the…
The criminal justice system is quite complex but the basic idea is that an attorney for the state, the prosecutors, brings charges against individuals that are believed to have violated the law as it is set out by the legislature in the Utah Code. What that means is...
Dividing a Personal Injury Award Comes Before Determining Alimony How a personal injury award is divided in a Utah divorce action depends on how the award is allocated between medical bills and lost wages and pain and suffering. In a divorce action the court is required to determine how to divide the spouses’ property and whether alimony should be awarded.…
Criminal Cases Often Involve Character Evidence Character evidence can muddy the waters of a trial in ways that can benefit and harm the defendant. Over the centuries of common law, a prohibition against introducing evidence of a person’s character developed so as to avoid influencing juries and judges to find either for or against a defendant merely because of a…
Drug Possession Is A Common Offense Utah has made first and second drug possession charges a misdemeanor, reducing such convictions from felonies. In a sweeping move which was totally unexpected and unusual (for Utah), the Utah Legislature effectively passed legislation to reduce the population in its jails and prisons by significant numbers. How? By reducing the criminal classification of those who…
The Alimony Statute The Utah Alimony Statute, Utah Code § 30-3-5(8), articulates seven factors that a court must consider in making an alimony determination: (i) the financial condition and needs of the recipient spouse; (ii) the recipient’s earning capacity or ability to produce income; (iii) the ability of the payor spouse to provide support; (iv) the length of the marriage;…
Requirements to Withdraw a Plea When a defendant enters into a plea negotiation with the State he has to waive all of his When a defendant enters a plea he can only withdraw it in certain instances. pretrial rights such as his right to remain silent, his right to the presumption of innocence, his right to cross examine witnesses, his…
Mediation Before Modification Provisions in Divorce Decrees In most divorce decrees these days a provision is included that requires the parties to enter into a mediation to settle any disputes before going to court. Mediation is an informal Many divorce decrees require mediation before modification. process of dispute resolution. Each party meets with a mediator who then will try to…
