Utah Court Rules Amended to Require Preliminary Hearings for
Class A Misdemeanors
Effective
April 1, 2012, the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure will be
amended to conform with the requirements of the Utah Supreme Court's
decision in the case of
State
of Utah v. Hernandez, 2011 UT 70. In
Hernandez,
the Utah Supreme Court held that the Utah State Constitution provides
for the right to a preliminary hearing for both felony charges and
class A misdemeanors (in cases where the charges are not filed based on
a grand jury indictment).
Historically, preliminary hearings had been held in class A
misdemeanors.
But as certain procedural changes were made in the way
criminal
cases were handled in the Utah court system, preliminary hearings for
class A misdemeanors came to an end. The Utah Supreme Court
in
Hernandez
essentially held that, while the procedural rules had changed, the
state's constitution had not changed. Thus, although the Utah
Rules of Criminal Procedure no longer required preliminary hearings for
class A misdemeanors, the state constitution still did.
Upon the issuance of the Utah Supreme Court's opinion,
Utah
criminal defense attorneys
immediately began demanding that preliminary hearings be held for class
A misdemeanor cases. The Utah court rules will now conform to
the
constitutional requirement of a preliminary hearing for class A
misdemeanor charges.
Finding the Right Criminal Defense Attorney
If you are facing criminal charges in Utah, you deserve to have an
experienced criminal defense lawyer on your side. As a
Salt
Lake criminal defense lawyer, Stephen Howard offers
legal services to clients throughout Utah.
Contact us today to
schedule an initial consultation.
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