Utah Court Records

Utah Court Record Lookup

When establishing child custody, enrolling in a court-ordered treatment program, collecting a judgment, or evicting a tenant, Utah UT court records are important documents. In Utah, court records are public documents available to anyone who performs Utah court records search.

Limited jurisdiction courts

Justice courts have specific jurisdiction over small claims cases, municipal ordinances, and class B and C misdemeanors.

Juvenile court handles legal matters concerning those under age 18, including crimes committed by minors, abuse and neglect, delinquency, serious motor vehicle infractions, and parental rights.

Trial courts

There are eight districts for the state’s trial courts of general jurisdiction, known as district courts. These courts handle felony and Utah criminal records, civil cases, probate matters, and family issues such as divorce filings, custody, and Utah child support.

Court records can be searched online by conducting Utah court record lookup. Some records are exempted from public requests due to confidentiality laws; these records include juvenile cases and those that name certain crime victims.

In a recent year, district courts saw almost 40,000 criminal cases filed and almost 80,000 civil cases filed. In these Utah courthouses, there were more than 20,000 domestic cases and almost 15,000 juvenile misdemeanor cases that year as well.

Appellate courts

The intermediate courts of appeals hear disputed cases from all lower courts, and the state supreme court takes selected appeals cases. The supreme court also has jurisdiction over many state agencies, interprets the state constitution, and handles the discipline of attorneys and judges.

Federal courts

Each state has one or more branches of U.S. District Court, called federal court, which oversees bankruptcy petitions, cases of federal law violations, and multi-state lawsuits. Records of federal cases can be searched online via Utah court case lookup and official documents requested from the court clerk.

Utah Notable Court Cases

A Cyprus High School teacher faced charges of accessing pornographic or indecent material on school property in 2016 after watching pornographic films in his classroom. A counselor from the school walked into Douglas M. Lind's classroom and caught him watching the films. Lind pleaded no contest to the charges, and the case will be dismissed if Lind pays a small fine and avoids legal trouble for one year.

A notable case regarding polygamy reached the U.S. court system on appeal after the Utah state court system upheld its law stating that such practices were illegal. Reality stars from the show "'Sister Wives" were put under investigation by local police after the show debuted for charges of bigamy, which is a felony in Utah. Although the husband was only legally married to one of the women in the house, the state's law defines bigamy as cohabitating with multiple people. One year later, the husband and his wives filed a case with the U.S. District Court stating the law infringed upon their constitutional rights, and the court agreed. The state is expected to appeal the decision, but today the law stands intact, making only obtaining multiple marriage licenses illegal.

In 1977, Utah passed a statute making same-sex marriage illegal, and in 1995 the Legislature passed a bill that banned recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages. Similar measures were also passed in 2004. In 2013, a group of same-sex couples filed charges against the state with the U.S. District Court stating the laws were unconstitutional, and the presiding justice agreed. The state was then granted an emergency stay pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the matter, which later determined that the right for same-sex couples to marry was a constitutional right.