Utah Supreme Court Decisions 2023

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of the State of Utah, the appellant, Troy Michael Kell, appealed the district court's dismissal of his second petition for post-conviction relief. Kell, while serving a life sentence…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of the State of Utah, the defendant, Alfonso Valdez, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and assaulting his ex-girlfriend. During the arrest, officers seized Valdez’s cell phone.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the defendant, Floyd Corry Robinson, argued that his sentence was unconstitutional because his counsel was ineffective and because the State suppressed evidence. Robinson brought his motion under Rule 22(e)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the determination of the Utah State Tax Commission that the Property Tax Division correctly followed the requirements of the Aircraft Valuation Law, Utah Code 59-2-201 subsection 4, in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion filed under Utah R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6), which allows a court to grant relief from a judgment under certain circumstances, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of two counts of rape, one count of aggravated assault, and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Robyn Young's motion to dismiss this action brought by Granite School District regarding settlement proceeds Young had received for industrial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court rejecting the State's interpretation of Utah Const. art. I, section 8(1) to mandate that a judge deny bail to a defendant charged with a felony if that…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal from the denial of a post-conviction determination of factual innocence pursuant to the Post-Conviction Remedies Act the Supreme Court remanded the case to the district court, holding that further…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of aggravated arson, holding that the court of appeals did not err in concluding that Defendant's counsel did not render…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court partially granting summary judgment concluding that a homeowners association (HOA) was entitled to collect past due assessments against Robbie Frank, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court in this interlocutory appeal of the denial of Defendant's motion to suppress calls made by Defendant on the Salt Lake County Jail's telephones and recorded by…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for Defendants on Plaintiffs' respondeat superior-related claims, holding that the district court correctly held that respondeat superior principles did not make the remaining…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the Public Service Commission (PSC) denying in part and granting in part motions for reconsideration of an order it issued setting forth the inputs it would use to calculate the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this ongoing sexual abuse of a child case the Supreme Court denied Defendant's motion filed under rule 4-202.04 of the Utah Code of Judicial Administration seeking access to F.L.'s therapy records that the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals dismissing as untimely Mother's appeal from the juvenile court's termination of the parental rights of Mother and Father, holding that Mother's time to file…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for sexually assaulting six women, holding that the doctrine of chances precedent should be abandoned in favor of a plain-test reading of rules 402, 403 and 404(b) of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action brought by Utah Stream Access Coalition (USAC) after USAC members were cited for trespass for wading in the Provo River on property owned by VR Acquisitions the Supreme Court held that the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of a homeowners' association in this dispute against Owner over unpaid assessments concluding that the HOA was entitled to collect the assessments…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of a homeowners association (HOA) in this lawsuit it brought to collect unpaid assessments against against the trustee…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Utah State Tax Commission agreeing with the determination of Washington County that rental property owned by Durbano Properties, LC in the County did not qualify for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals denying Defendant's motion for remand under rule 23B of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure after a jury convicted him of aggravated robbery, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court concluding that the parties' signed voluntary declaration of paternity (VDP) should be set aside because of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that Defendant, Gregory Miller, could be guilty of stalking Kendra, holding that the court of appeals did not err in interpreting the stalking…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court concluding that Pleasant Grover (City) had the power to enact a three-tiered "transportation utility fee" (TUF) but reversed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating Defendant's convictions based on ineffective assistance of counsel, holding that errors in the proceedings below did not prejudice Defendant. In…