Status of Courts with the Lifting of Covid Restrictions

info@utahwebdesignpros.com — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 18:04:39 +0000

Nearly everyone I know is so grateful Covid-19 restrictions are starting to lift. I know I am certainly ready for life to get back to some semblance of normal. I personally, am a people person and enjoy social activities and interactions. Now that COVID-19 restrictions are being removed, how does this impact how cases are handled in the courts? Are hearings in person? Is the backlog we were experiencing being addressed? In looking at www.utcourts.gov, it is stated that as of June 3, 2021, all counties have moved to the yellow phase of court operations. In moving to the yellow phase, each individual court and county have flexibility in determining how to resume in-court proceedings.

Under the yellow phase, District and Justice court may begin conducting in-person civil and criminal jury trials, as long as they have as their pandemic risk response plan has been approved by the Management Committee. In all civil and criminal jury trials, the Defendant has the right, should be chosen to do so, to appear by video conferencing if they have an effective ability to participate, have meaningful interaction with counsel, and the ability to be able to view witnesses and trial participants. In my experience, the hearings I have attended by video conferencing have been conducted via WebEx. The Judge’s clerk sends an invite through email.

Now that jury trials are being scheduled, it is anticipated that many Utahns will receive notices that they have been called for jury duty. Judges are anticipating their calendars will be very full with trials this year in the hope of clearing their calendars from the backlog that was created when everything was put on hold due to COVID-19 last year. Typically, there are approximately 1200 trials held in Utah each year – 350 of which generally involve a jury trial. I understand that the use of federal COVID-19 relief funds has been approved to bring Judges out of retirement to help address the backlog.

Now that Utah is getting the legal system back on track, trials, hearings, and other judicial matters will start happening, and cases will move forward.

What Legally Defines a Weapon?

info@utahwebdesignpros.com — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 17:51:19 +0000

A spoon, a knife, a gun, what do all these things have in common? They can all be used to wound or kill someone. Does this mean that these items (as well as all things that can harm) are weapons?

LAWFUL INTERPRETATION OF A WEAPON

Under most legislation, a “dangerous weapon” can be described in two categories:

A firearm, whether loaded or unloaded; or
A knife, bludgeon, or any various other weapons, gadgets, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, that, in the manner, it is made use of, or meant to be used, is capable of creating death or serious physical injury.

From this interpretation, we can figure out that any gun (even unloaded weapons) are deadly weapons. As a result, a gun without any bullets is technically a fatal weapon under regulation.

After establishing that guns are weapons, every other thing’s “weapon status” relies on exactly how the item is possessed. If someone attempts to harm a person with a blade, it can be considered a weapon based on the attack’s evidence.

” MANNER OF USAGE” CONDITION

As composed in the meaning of a “lethal weapon,” we locate the expression, “fashion it is utilized.” By using this meaning, most of anything could be a weapon under the appropriate circumstances. For example, if a person smothers somebody else with a cushion, maybe argued that the pillow was an “unsafe weapon” based upon the method it was made of use.

Once you think through usage stipulation, you begin to realize that several everyday items could be lethal weapons under the best conditions.

PENALTIES RAISE WITH A HARMFUL WEAPON

The identification of an item as a “deadly weapon” could drastically affect a criminal instance. With a deadly weapon, an attack fee might become a worsened attack charge, a break-in charge, with a deadly weapon, can come to be an exacerbated burglary fee, and a sexual offense cost with a deadly weapon can become an aggravated sexual assault charge.

The worsened condition of these costs drastically raises the possible charges for the founded guilty, which is why the charged should always fight a product’s fatal weapon standing when possible.

ACCUSED OF POSSESSING A DANGEROUS WEAPON?