Last week, I published a short article in the Utah Bar Journal arguing that originalism may not suggest the same interpretive role for state judges interpreting state constitutions as it does for federal judges interpreting the U.S. Constitution. I reproduced much of the content of the article in a recent post. Related posts include one… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Commentary on Utah Law
Subscribe to Commentary on Utah Law RSS FeedUtah Originalism
Posted in Commentary on Utah LawA version of what appears below was published in the May/June 2012 edition of the Utah Bar Journal. Introduction The Utah Supreme Court has had a tenuous relationship with originalism. Originalism is a collection of views unified by their treatment of events at the time constitutional text was drafted and ratified as determinative of how… Continue Reading
Originalism and Utah Common Law
Posted in Commentary on Utah LawWhen the Utah Supreme Court discusses originalism, it often draws from national discussions of originalism that concern the U.S. Constitution. It is worth considering whether, and to what extent, drawing on those discussions is warranted. Originalism is a collection of views unified by their treatment of events at the time constitutional text was drafted and ratified as determinative… Continue Reading
Originalism and the Primacy Approach to the Utah Constitution
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Appellate Practice, Zimmerman Jones BooherThe Utah Supreme Court has wavered in whether it will adopt originalism as the method of interpreting the Utah Constitution, but has been consistent in its employment of the primacy approach to addressing state constitutional issues. The primacy approach considers state constitutions to be the primary source of fundamental law, meaning that state judges first… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – Taylor v. State – the PCRA and Article I, Section 5
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsYesterday, in an opinion authored by Justice Parrish, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of Von Lester Taylor’s petition for post-conviction relief from his death sentence. Taylor v. State, 2012 UT 5. Coverage of the opinion by Emiley Morgan of the Deseret News can be found here; by Melinda Rogers of the Salt Lake Tribune… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – Opinions in 2011
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court News, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsToday, the Utah Supreme Court will issue two opinions–Stone Flood v. Safeco and State v. Arave. When it does, it will have issued 84 opinions in 2011. Four of those opinions were amended opinions, so the court issued 80 opinions in distinct cases. Those four amended opinions in 2011 indicate that the court granted petitions for… Continue Reading
Utah Adoption Laws and the Utah Constitution
Posted in Commentary on Utah LawA story by Brooke Adams in today’s Salt Lake Tribune today highlights some of the issues for unwed fathers arising from Utah’s rather harsh adoption laws. The story can be found here. We have covered this issue though the news coverage and provided commentary on two recent cases, Donjuan v. McDermott and Baby EZ. The troubling pattern… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – Carranza v. United States – Wrongful Death and the Unborn
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsOn Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court issued Carranza v. United States, 2011 UT 80, an opinion without a majority. Carranza held that the prior version of Utah’s wrongful death statute recognizes a cause of action for the death of an unborn child. The operative wrongful death statute provided that “a parent or guardian may maintain an action for… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – UDOT v. Admiral Beverage Corp.
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsLast week, in a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Parrish—UDOT v. Admiral Beverage Corp.—the court expressly overruled precedent. In 2007, the Utah Supreme Court in Ivers v. UDOT held that landowners could recover damages for loss of view—but not loss of visibility—when the government exercises its power of eminent domain to condemn property. Ivers v…. Continue Reading
Appellate Review of Arbitration Awards – American Home Systems v. Cambria Homeowners Association
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Court of Appeals OpinionsThe Utah Court of Appeals recently issued a per curiam opinion, American Home Systems, LLC, v. Cambria Homeowners Association, Inc., 2011 UT App 337, addressing the need to comply with the statutes that authorize appeals from district court orders relating to arbitration awards. Recently we posted about a Utah Supreme Court case highlighting the importance of filing a timely notice of appeal. … Continue Reading
Utah Indigent Defense
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court NewsA few weeks ago, Linda Jones posted about the Utah Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Parduhn, which requires government to provide indigent defendants who are represented by private counsel with funding for defense resources, including experts and investigators. Today, the Salt Lake Tribune published an article by Aaron Falk on the potential impact of the… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – Workers Compensation Fund v. Argonaut Insurance Company
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Appellate Practice, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsThe Utah Supreme Court this week issued an opinion authored by Justice Parrish, Worker’s Compensation Fund v. Argonaut Ins. Fund, 2011 UT 61, highlighting the importance of strict compliance with the Utah Rules related to post-trial motions and notices of appeal. Robert Ceniceros of Business Insurance has written about the case in an article that can be… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – Johnson v. State
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsLast Friday, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a petition for post-conviction relief in Johnson v. State. A Deseret News article written by Emiley Morgan can be found here. A Salt Lake Tribune article written by Melinda Rogers can be found here. The unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Durham, details a procedural history… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – State v. Parduhn
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsIn State v. Parduhn–opinion found here–the Utah Supreme Court reaffirmed its holding in State v. Burns that local governments are statutorily required to provide indigent defendants, who are represented by private counsel, with funding for defense resources, including experts and investigators. According to the court, the Utah Indigent Defense Act (Act)–Utah Code sections 77-32-1 to… Continue Reading
Ordinary Meaning and the Corpus on Contemporary American English
Posted in Commentary on Utah LawThe Baby E.Z. Controversy In the Baby E.Z. decision in July, the Utah Supreme Court justices disagreed over the considerations relevant to determining the “ordinary and accepted meaning” of the statutory phrase “custody determination,” as it is used in 28 U.S.C. 1738A. The dispute among the justices concerned whether the phrase “custody determination” was best… Continue Reading
Artwork in the Utah Supreme Court
Posted in Commentary on Utah LawA recent story in the Salt Lake Tribune by Glen Warchol about the artwork behind the justices in the Utah Supreme Court can be found here. Photos of the artwork accompany the story. As most of you know, for years the 19 foot artwork has been covered for oral argument due to concern that it… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court Last Week
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsI did not get this post up last week because it has been a hectic week setting up our new law firm. I apologize. Last week, the Utah Supreme Court published the oral argument schedule for September and issued one opinion. The oral argument schedule for September can be found here. The opinion was B.J.M…. Continue Reading
Subscribe to this blog via RSS
View My Linkedin Profile
Follow on Twitter