Utah Court Records

What is Included in Utah Public Court Records

Criminal Court Cases

Assault & Battery, Domestic Violence, Parole Violation, Probation Violation, Sexual Assault, Robbery, Manslaughter, Murder, Drug Offenses, And More...

Civil Court Cases

Bankruptcies, Legal Judgments, Lawsuits, Tax & Property Liens, Contract Disputes, Probates, Family Law, Small Claims, Evictions, And More...

Traffic Court Cases

Driving Under Influence, Driving While Intoxicated, Speeding Tickets, Traffic Citations, Reckless Driving, Driving Without a License, License Suspensions, Criminal Driving Violations, Accidents, And More...

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.

Utah Civil Case Statistics

Civil Caseload
Civil Caseload 112,358
Caseloads per 100.000 Population
Caseloads per 100.000 Population 3,682
Clearance Rate
Clearance Rate 101%
Small Claims Caseload
Small Claims Caseload 28,469

Civil Caseloads for Utah, the sum of all civil cases reported by the state, account for 600,109 total cases at the year end of 2016, which makes it 3,682 cases per 100.000 population.

The clearance rate for the state is about 101% which makes up by dividing the outgoing to incoming civil cases and expressing the result in a percentage.

Civil Court Incoming & Outgoing Cases 2012-2016

The number of civil court caseloads in 2016 has decreased since 2012, being 112,358 vs. 127,816, which is by 12.1 % lower than 5 years ago. The same picture is seen with clearance rates, it’s lower compared to 2012, by 15.9% being 113,456 compared to 134,935.

State Small Claims & Rates Timeline

Year: Small Claims Max. Limit Small Claims Caseload per 100.000 Population Percent of Total Civil Caseload
2012$1000031,3391,09825%
2013$1000029,5421,01824%
2014$1000024,52283320%
2015$1000027,54992024%
2016$1000028,46993325%

The caseload for small claims has decreased since 2012, going from 31,339 cases a year to 28,469 of 2016. The maximum limit of small claim charges has stayed the same at $10,000 in 2016 compared to the $10,000 that was registered 5 years ago.

Accordingly the small claims rate has decreased- 933 cases per 100 000 population compared to the 1,098 of 2012. The total percentage of civil caseloads accounts 17.9% for the state of Utah for 2016.

Criminal Caseloads by Type

Criminal Caseloads for Utah sum in 126,734 cases at the year end of 2016 which has a share of 76% of misdemeanor and 19% of felony charges. Total criminal cases have decreased in Utah compared to the criminal caseload of 2012 - 174,705 cases. Felonies and misdemeanors have changed since 2012 by -36% and +5% accordingly.

The Proportion of Felony and Misdemeanor Caseloads

Criminal Incoming Court Cases by type 2012-2016

Criminal Caseloads Timeline

Domestic Relations Caseloads & Clearance Rates

The state’s domestic relations caseload has counted 23,967 cases which is 785 court cases per 100.000 population. It has increased since 2012, the difference in caseloads is 1,104 for the last 5 years, being 22,863 in 2012.

State Court Holidays

Holiday: Date:
New Year's DayMonday, January 1, 2018
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. DayMonday, January 15, 2018
Washington and Lincoln DayMonday, February 19, 2018
Memorial DayMonday, May 28, 2018
Independence DayWednesday, July 4, 2018
Pioneer DayTuesday, July 24, 2018
Labor Day Monday, September 3, 2018
Columbus DayMonday, October 8, 2018
Veterans' Day (Observed)Monday, Nov 12, 2018
Thanksgiving DayThursday, November 22, 2018
Christmas Day Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Supreme Court Caseloads & Clearance Rates

Court of Appeals Caseloads