Probation and Parole Violations
Probation and parole, although related concepts, are quite different things. Probation can be part of the sentence given when someone is convicted of a crime; it can be provided instead of or in combination with jail time. Parole is only granted after someone has served some or most of his/her jail sentence, and even then, […]
Public Intoxication
In addition to the various DUI and DWI charges that are often associated with alcohol, there is also the charge of public intoxication, which seems to be a catch-all for those under the influence of mind-altering drugs, but not behind the wheel of a vehicle. While you cannot be arrested simply for being drunk in […]
Assault and Battery
Because the two are so frequently lumped together in speech, and often occur together in action, assault and battery are often treated as one idea or charge. However, assault is something different from battery, and each one has other consequences within the legal system. Assault is putting another person in fear of bodily harm through […]
Disorderly Conduct
Disorderly conduct arrests are a frequent, everyday occurrence. When it comes to arresting someone for ‘disorderly conduct,’ the police have an almost unlimited number of things they can arrest someone for. The actual language of the law states that “a person is guilty of disorderly conduct if: (a) he refuses to comply with the lawful […]
Arson Part: 2
Although arson is typically described in the media as intentionally setting buildings with human beings inside them ablaze, the definition of arson under Utah law is hardly so narrow. Reckless burning and abandoned fire are two other offenses that are eligible as arson in Utah. Unlike the other crimes, see Arson I, the offenses of […]
Arson Part: 1
Arson is a crime that comes in many different degrees and names. At its most basic level, arson is the act of willfully and intentionally lighting someone else’s (or your own) property or things (perhaps even with a person(s) inside the intended target) on fire, with the desired result being incineration. Using explosives to destroy […]
Burglary
Although often treated as the same thing as theft and robbery, burglary is in truth neither. Burglary is its offense and doesn’t need to be accompanied by others to be classed as a crime. Burglary, at its base level, is simply the act of illegally entering a dwelling to commit another crime. That other crime […]
Juvenile Criminal Defense
Under Utah law, a juvenile is someone who is under the age of 21 and has broken or violated the law – whether the law is local, state, or federal – before their eighteenth birthday. Youths under the age of fourteen are not responsible for criminal conduct or the violation of laws. When a juvenile […]
Robbery
As defined by Utah code, title 76, chapter 6, section 301, robbery occurs when someone “unlawfully and intentionally takes or attempts to take personal property in possession of another from his person, or immediate presence, against his will, through force or fear, and with a purpose or intent to deprive the person permanently or temporarily […]