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O’Hearon v. Hansen, 2017 UT App 214 (Nov. 24, 2017).

Following the mother’s death, a stepfather filed a petition requesting custody of three minor children under Utah’s Custody and Visitation of Persons Other Than Parents Act, which allows a non-family member to seek custody if the biological parent “is absent”…

State v. Rettig, 2017 UT 83 (Nov. 22, 2017).

Under the Plea Withdrawal Statute, a defendant must move to withdraw his or her guilty plea prior to sentencing or pursue relief under the Post-Conviction Remedies Act. In this case, the defendant argued that the Plea Withdrawal Statute infringed upon his right to appeal a…

In re R.G., 2017 UT 79 (Nov. 15, 2017).

Two juvenile defendants accused of aggravated sexual assault appealed the denial of a motion to suppress post-Miranda statements to detective. The supreme court held that the juveniles knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived their Miranda rights, given the totality of the circumstances, even though parents were not…

Porenta v. Porenta, 2017 UT 78 (Nov. 15, 2017).

In the midst of divorce proceedings, Husband transferred the couple’s marital home to his mother, intending to void Wife’s claim to the home. Before the divorce was finalized, Husband died. At trial, the court held that the transfer was fraudulent, and awarded the home…

A.S. v. R.S., 2017 UT 77 (Nov. 14, 2017).

The Utah Supreme Court dismissed this appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction. The timeliness of the notice of appeal hinged on the timeliness of a Rule 59 motion for new trial, which appellant relied on to toll the time for appeal. Appellant had filed…

Pyle v. Woods, F.3d, 2017 WL 4931916 (10th Cir. Nov. 1, 2017).

Plaintiffs asserted a civil rights claim based on a warrantless search of Utah’s prescription drug database in the course of a theft investigation.  On appeal, the Tenth Circuit held that a detective who accessed a state-run prescription drug database without a…