Salt Lake City, UT—The Salt Lake County Nominating Commission has selected five nominees for a judicial vacancy that will serve Salt Lake City, Utah. The position will replace Judge John  Baxter who will retire in July of 2022. 

Following are the nominees followed by place of employment and residence: 

• Yvette Donosso, J.D., attorney at law, resident of South Jordan, 

• Lisa Garner, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Cottonwood Heights, 

• Jonathan Jemming, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Millcreek, 

• Jojo Liu, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Salt Lake City, and 

• Todd Olsen, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Salt Lake City. 

A comment period will be held through April 28, 2022. A final candidate will then be selected  by the Salt Lake City Mayor, Erin Mendenhall, within 30 days. The selection must then be certified by the Utah Judicial Council. To submit written comments about the candidates, please contact Amy Hernandez at amymh@utcourts.gov. 

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THECOURTS
450 South State
P.O. Box 140241 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-0241
801-578-3800

NEWSRELEASE Matthew B.Durrant
Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court
Ronald B. Gordon, Jr.
State CourtAdministrator
Catherine J.Dupont
Deputy State CourtAdministrator
Ensuring Justice for All FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tania Mashburn April 18, 2022 (801) 712-4545

NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR
THE SALT LAKE CITY JUSTICE COURT VACANCY
Salt Lake City, UT—The Salt Lake County Nominating Commission has selected five nominees for a judicial vacancy that will serve Salt Lake City, Utah. The position will replace Judge John Baxter who will retire in July of 2022.
Following are the nominees followed by place of employment and residence:
• Yvette Donosso, J.D., attorney at law, resident of South Jordan,
• Lisa Garner, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Cottonwood Heights,
• Jonathan Jemming, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Millcreek,
• Jojo Liu, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Salt Lake City, and
• Todd Olsen, J.D., attorney at law, resident of Salt Lake City.
A comment period will be held through April 28, 2022. A final candidate will then be selected by the Salt Lake City Mayor, Erin Mendenhall, within 30 days. The selection must then be certified by the Utah Judicial Council. To submit written comments about the candidates, please contact Amy Hernandez at amymh@utcourts.gov.
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The Utah Supreme Court invites comments to the following proposed amendments. The comment period will expire February 26, 2022.

UTAH RULES OF EVIDENCE

URE0412. Admissibility of Victim’s Sexual Behavior or Predisposition (AMEND).  The proposed amendment clarifies that the rule is applicable to juvenile delinquency proceedings.

How to View Redline Text of the Proposed Amendment

To see proposed rule amendments and submit comments, click on this link to: http://www.utcourts.gov/utc/rules-comment/, then click on the rule number.

How to Submit Comments

To see proposed rule amendments and submit comments, click on this link:  http://www.utcourts.gov/utc/rules-comment/.  Once on the page you will see a series of boxes with proposed rules or a proposed set of rules.  Locate the rule(s) you would like to view.  Select that section by clicking on “continue reading.”  You will then be directed to a site where you can leave a comment (reply).  Scroll down the page to the “Leave a reply” section.  When leaving a comment (reply), you will be asked for your name, which is required, and your email address which need not be your real address. The comment website is public. Each comment must be approved by the site administrator before it will show on the public website.  Although all comments will be considered, they will not be acknowledged with a response.

Please submit comments directly through the website.  Should you have any questions, please contact the committee staff person.  The list of committees can be found at: https://www.utcourts.gov/committees/.

Check out the job listings in the Practice Portal.  Utah State Bar Member Services Login (utahbar.org)

RULES GOVERNING THE UTAH STATE BAR

USB14-0113.  Paralegal Division. Amend. In the context of the Paralegal Division, rule amendments are intended to capture the interplay between Licensed Paralegal Practitioners (LPP’s) and non-Bar-licensed paralegals. The amendments may be summarized as follows:

• A paralegal may also include an LPP as defined in Rule 14-101;
• The certification requirements are waived for LPP’s joining the paralegal division;
• The term “bar licensee” refers to both a lawyer and an LPP; and
• An LPP may be a sponsor of a paralegal affiliate in the paralegal division.

To see approved rule amendments, click on the rule number above, or click on this link to: http://www.utcourts.gov/utc/rules-approved/. Then click on the rule number.

The Utah Judicial Council invites applications for membership on the Model Utah Civil Jury Instructions Standing Committee. 

Vacancies include:

1) One person skilled in linguistics or communication.

2) One lawyer who primarily represents defendants.

The Committee is comprised of attorneys from both sides of the aisle representing plaintiffs and defendants, as well as district court judges and a person skilled in linguistics.  The charge of the Committee is to develop jury instructions that are an accurate statement of Utah law using simply structure and, where possible, words of ordinary meaning.  The Committee has several groups working on topic areas, and meets on the second Monday of each month at 4:00 p.m. to discuss proposed instructions in these areas.  Appointments are for three year terms, with possibility of re-appointment and no more than two terms served. 

If you are interested in applying, please submit the following to Stacy Haacke (stacyh@utcourts.gov) no later than February 4, 2022:

1) Statement of interest,

2) A list of current or past court committee assignments, and

3) Resume.

The Utah Supreme Court has approved amendments to the following rules. The amendments went into effect December 31, 2021.

Utah Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice  

CJA11-0510. Ethics and Discipline Committee composition. Amend. The proposed changes would allow the Ethics and Discipline Committee to recruit up to eight public members and up to 25 lawyer members, with the minimum required numbers of members remaining at four and 21, respectively. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that the Committee has a sufficient number of individual members to attend screening panel hearings of disciplinary matters. The proposed changes also allow the Committee to have three to four Committee vice chairs, rather than always requiring four vice chairs.

CJA11-0511. Screening panel composition; responsibilities. Amend. The first proposed change reflects the allowed increase in the overall size of the Ethics and Discipline Committee’s four screening panels but retains the requirement that a maximum of one public member and four lawyer members will attend screening panel hearings. The second proposed change provides that screening panel hearings must have five screening panel members, including the panel chair or vice chair and one public member. Consent by the parties to a lower number of screening panel members is no longer allowed. The final proposed change allows the screening panel chair
to vote on panel determinations.

CJA11-0513. Committee clerk. Amend. The proposed change applies the immunity provisions of Rule 11-540 to the Committee clerk. The immunity provisions previously were not expressly applicable to the clerk.

CJA11-0591. Reinstatement following a suspension of more than six months; relicensure. Correction. The proposed change clarifies that, unlike a petition for relicensure, a petition for reinstatement need not be accompanied by a report and recommendation from the Bar’s Character and Fitness Committee.

To see approved rule amendments, click on the rule number above, or click on this link to: http://www.utcourts.gov/utc/rules-approved/ . Then click on the rule number.

JUDICIARY MOURNS DEATH OF RETIRED JUDGE MARK DECARIA

Salt Lake City, UT – Retired District Court Judge Mark DeCaria, whose public service spanned more than three decades, passed away early Sunday morning at the age of 70, after undergoing major heart surgery.

Judge DeCaria was appointed to the Second District Court in 2009 by Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., where he served Davis, Morgan, and Weber counties. Judge DeCaria served as Weber County Attorney for 15 years, worked as Deputy County Attorney and Ogden City Prosecutor, and was in private practice prior to those positions.

“Judge DeCaria was an extraordinary servant of the public. His primary concern was to keep the community safe, but he was also compassionate to the disadvantaged and looked for opportunities to help them turn their lives around,” said Chief Justice Matthew Durrant. “Judge DeCaria leaves behind an impressive legacy of service and will be sorely missed.”

Judge DeCaria graduated from the University of Utah and completed a juris doctorate degree at Hamline University School of Law in Minnesota. He was a founding member of the Weber Morgan Domestic Violence Coalition and a member of the committee that created the Weber County Drug Court.

Assistant Attorney General – Child Protection – Provo

The Utah Office of the Attorney General, Child Protection Division, has an immediate opening for an attorney to represent the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) by petitioning the Fourth District Juvenile Court to exercise protective jurisdiction over suspected child victims of abuse, neglect and dependency. This position is located in Provo, Utah.

Applicants must be able to manage a high volume of very active cases, moving at a fast pace with much at stake in terms of impact to children and families. Incumbent is also responsible to approve warrants to search for and remove children from parents’ custody; screen cases with Child Protective Services and law enforcement; perform legal research; prepare summonses, petitions, subpoenas, discovery responses, motions, memoranda, orders and other legal documents; and consult with DCFS representatives. They will represent DCFS at multi-disciplinary-team meetings, family-team meetings and mediation as well as at administrative hearings and defend appeals from administrative hearings. The successful candidate will prosecute abuse, neglect and dependency matters at shelter, pre-trial, adjudication, disposition, review, permanency, and other hearings; and will prosecute petitions to terminate parental rights and appear at associated hearings.

At least three years legal experience is required, with preference being given to applicants with prosecution or other trial experience. Applicants must possess excellent written and oral advocacy skills and have the experience and ability to immediately take over an existing caseload. Membership in the Utah State Bar in good standing is required.

For more information and to apply for the position, visit the Utah state jobs website at governmentjobs.com/careers/utah, and search “Assistant Attorney General”. The application deadline is Sunday, December 19, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

The Attorney General’s Office is an equal opportunity employer. Security background checks are completed as a condition of employment.

The Utah State Bar Board of Bar Commissioners is seeking applications from lawyers to serve on the Utah Appellate Court Nominating Commission.  The Commission nominates judges to fill vacancies on the Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Court of Appeals.  Two lawyers are appointed by the Governor from a list of six nominees provided by the Bar.

Commissioners must be citizens of the United States and residents of Utah.  Commissioners are appointed for one term of four years.  No more than four of the seven members of the nominating commission may be of the same political party.

Please identify your political party or if you are politically independent in a letter of interest.  Submit your letter and resume to Christy Abad, Executive Assistant, by e-mail at cabad@utahbar.org.  Resumes must be received by Monday, December 27, 2021.