2024 UT App 47 – In re K.J. THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, IN THE INTEREST OF K.J., M.J., AND K.J., PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. D.F. AND K.J., Appellants, v. STATE OF UTAH, Appellee. Opinion Nos. 20230102-CA and 20230103-CA Filed April 4, 2024 First District Juvenile Court, Logan Department The Honorable Bryan P. Galloway No. 1218130 Alexandra Mareschal, Kirstin Norman, and Jason B. Richards, Attorneys for Appellant D.F. Emily Adams, Attorney for Appellant K.J. Sean D. Reyes, Carol L.C. Verdoia, and John M. Peterson, Attorneys for Appellee Martha Pierce, Guardian ad Litem JU ..read more

Did you see this in the news in Utah (from the Salt Lake Tribune)? A Utah man never hit his wife — until he tried to kill her. But how he treated her was a warning sign. Saying that the proposed “coercive control” legislation is needed because of the “failure of the courts” to detect crime makes no sense. It’s not a judge’s job to detect crime. It’s the police and prosecutors’ jobs. The judge applies the law to the facts and the evidence and renders judgment. Moreover, by its nature crime occurs in the shadows. It’s going to happen no matter how much anti-crime legislation is passed. Otherwise ..read more

When a PGAL (private guardian ad litem) is appointed to represent children in a child custody dispute in a Utah divorce case, it would sure be good to know what the PGAL and the children actually said to each other (not merely believe, not trust any second-hand source’s claims as to what the children purportedly said, but know what the children said) by having a by having an audio and/or sound-and-video recording of the what the PGAL and the children actually said to each other. I am not aware of any evidence that proves or so much as suggests that having such a record is (is, not ma ..read more

I recently accompanied my boss to the trial of a divorce case. If I had had to place a bet on what the judge was thinking at given moment or what the rulings would have been during the trial or at the end, I would have left the courtroom much poorer. One of the things that struck me most about trial was my inability to determine the importance a judge gives to the evidence and to witness testimony. I could not consistently predict which way the judge was leaning at any given moment. But it’s not solely a matter of my inexperience with the legal system. My boss (who has considerable trial exper ..read more

Talk to a good (a good) lawyer about whether you even have the right to “inherit” from your ex-husband’s brothers. Unless there are bizarre circumstances at work here, odds are you have no rights to your ex-husband’s brothers’ decedents’ estates. Talk to a good lawyer who handles wills and probate matters to find out. Heck, bring your husband along to the meeting, so that he learns first-hand from the lawyer himself (that way he can’t tell you that “you don’t understand” if you come back from the lawyer’s office by yourself and tell your husband what the lawyer told you). As for a husband who ..read more

State v. Arce – 2024 UT App 43 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. JOSE FELIPE ARCE, Appellant. Opinion No. 20220006-CA Filed March 28, 2024 First District Court, Logan Department The Honorable Brandon J. MaynardNo. 191100762 Freyja Johnson, Emily Adams, and Hannah Leavitt-Howell, Attorneys for Appellant, assisted by law student Ryder Seamons[1] Sean D. Reyes and Marian Decker, Attorneys for Appellee, assisted by law student Rebecca Barker JUDGE DAVID N. MORTENSEN authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES RYAN D. TENNEY and AMY J. OLIVER concurred. MORTENSEN, Judge: ¶1 &nbs ..read more

If you can get a no-fault divorce, meaning that you can just walk away from a marriage because you don’t want it anymore, why could that same person seek alimony? You have a right to rescind the marriage contract. But with rights come responsibilities. The right to walk away from a marriage on no-fault grounds must entail the corresponding responsibility to take the bitter with the sweet. No more marriage means no more spouse, and no more obligation of your ex-spouse to support you financially. Isn’t rescinding the marriage contract on no-fault grounds and still demanding that the other party ..read more

2024 UT App 40 – State v. Heward THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS, STATE OF UTAH, Appellee, v. BENJAMIN LEE HEWARD, Appellant. Opinion No. 20221055-CA Filed March 28, 2024 Fourth District Court, Provo Department The Honorable Robert A. Lund No. 201400462 Scott F. Garrett and Jessica Griffin Anderson, Attorneys for Appellant Sean D. Reyes and Andrew F. Peterson, Attorneys for Appellee JUDGE DAVID N. MORTENSEN authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN FORSTER and RYAN M. HARRIS concurred. MORTENSEN, Judge: ¶1        Benjamin Lee Heward pled guilty ..read more

Sorensen v. Crossland – 2024 UT App 41 THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS CANDICE CROSSLAND SORENSEN, Appellant, v. STEVEN G. CROSSLAND AND LORI A. MAY, Appellees. Opinion No. 20220756-CA Filed March 28, 2024, Third District Court, Salt Lake Department The Honorable Mark S. Kouris No. 180902903 Ralph C. Petty, Attorney for Appellant Matthew N. Olsen and M. Tyler Olsen, Attorneys for Appellees JUDGE DAVID N. MORTENSEN authored this Opinion, in which JUDGES GREGORY K. ORME and MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN, FORSTER concurred. MORTENSEN, Judge: ¶1 A father and mother stole from their daughter by taking set ..read more

Without knowing more about your criminal record, I can still safely predict that having almost any kind of chronic or significant criminal record reduces your chances of being awarded custody of a child simply because having a criminal record indicates some kind of character flaw or moral failing, and good character and morals are a factor in determining parental fitness. The kinds of crimes that have the greatest impact on the child custody analysis and award likely come as no surprise to anyone: child abuse (physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological and emotional abuse), child neglect, phy ..read more