Being charged publicly is very stressful. Let South Jordan criminal defense attorney Jake Gunter guide you through the process. He has 20 years of jury trial experience across Utah defending the accused.
DUI. Driving under the Influence. Impaired Driving, Metabolite, drugged driving are all enhanceable driving under the influence offenses. Modern DUI law in Utah has many mandatory sentencing requirements, such as jail and losing your license.
Avoding jail under a 41-6a-505(12) stipulation or the 24/7 sobriety court is one way to avoid jail time on a first DUI. All alcohol DUI like convictions carry mandatory interlock restrictions and make you an “Alcohol Restricted Driver.” Meaning no measurable amount of alcohol is legal while driving a motor vehicle.
Marijuana Possession. Until just recently you automatically lost your driver’s license when conviction of simple marijuana possession. Now under Utah Code 53-3-220(1)(c) you only lose your driver’s for 120 days if the judge makes specific findings that a “driver license suspension is likely to reduce recidivism and is in the interest of public safety.”
Domestic Violence. There are 30 plus domestic violence tagged crimes in Utah. Assault, Harassment, Electronic Communication Harassment, Stalking, Unlawful Detention, Violation of a Protective Order, Child Abuse and Damage to or Interruption of a Communication Device to name a few.
Traffic Citations. All traffic is processed in the South Jordan Justice Court and ranges from mostly Infractions to Class C Misdemeanors and some Class B Misdemeanors. Most traffic offense are found in the Utah Traffic Code, 41-6a-101 (It has 18 chapters). You do not get a jury right with an Infraction and often Class B or Class C original charges are reduced to Infractions to avoid the city’s expenses of a jury trial.
Retail Theft. Retail Theft convictions are enhanceable offenses.
Retail Theft charges are also enhance based on the value of what was allegedly stolen. Under $500 is a Class B Misdemeanor and charged in the South Jordan Justice Court.
South Jordan Justice Court has a beautiful granite courtroom and handled 3,912 filings in 2022.
DUIs. 78
Traffic. 3,163
Other Misdemeanors. 500
In comparison, West Valley Justice Court handled 19,376 and Salt Lake City Justice Court handled 16,859 in 2022.
South Jordan only has one judge, appointed since 2017 and is a former Salt Lake County prosecuting attorney. He has been an licensed Utah attorney since 2008.
A short description of the South Jordan Justice Court hearings are as follows for misdemeanors:
Arrest/Citation: The date of incident where you are cited for an offense or arrested. Police have wide discretion on when to arrest versus cite. Most domestic violence and DUIs are mandatory arrests.
You must call the South Jordan Justice Court within 5-14 days and schedule a court hearing. Failure to do so will result in a warrant for your arrest.
Arraignment: The purpose of an Arraignment is to plead guilty or not guilty. Arraignments are very short and limited in purpose. Further pretrial hearings are set.
Pretrial Conference: Misdemeanor B and below don’t get preliminary hearings under our Utah Constitution. There can be one pretrial conference and the matter is set for a jury trial, or there can be 5 pretrial conferences. Pretrial conferences are way for the defense and prosecution to discuss and possible resolve your case.
Pretrial Motions: Common pretrial motions that are heard before the jury or judge trial starts are motions to suppress, motion in limine on evidence issues or motions to enforce Miranda violations. There are many other types of pretrial motions.
Judge Trial: A judge trial, or bench trial is where the judge alone hears your case. The judge acts as the trier of facts and decider of law.
Jury Trial: A jury trial is where the judge is the decider of the law and the jury is the trier of the facts. All factual disputes are decided by the jury. All evidence or process issues are decided by the judge.
Sentencing: If you are convicted, you have a right to be sentenced no earlier than 3 days and no later than 45 days. Most people plead guilty and are sentenced on the same day, but not always. Often you will want a cooling off period and will demand to be sentenced at another time. You can waive the 3 day mandatory waiting period.
Appeal De Novo: Because Utah used to have so many non-law trained justice court judges, Utah uses a De Novo appeal system. Meaning you get to do the entire jury trial again in the District Court on appeal. Unlike cold appeals to the Utah appellate courts, a De Novo Justice Court appeal is a “Do Over.” You have witnesses and exhibits and have another whole jury trial. You have 28 days to appeal from sentencing.
Appeal Hearing De Novo: Hearing De Novo appeals are appealing specific justice court rulings. A justice court’s decision to:
(i) an order revoking probation;
(ii) a sentence after a determination that a defendant failed to fulfill the terms of a plea in abeyance agreement;
(iii) an order denying a motion to withdraw a plea if the plea is being held in abeyance and the motion to withdraw the plea is filed within 28 days after the day on which the plea is entered;
(iv) an order for restitution; or
(v) an order denying expungement.
If you have been charged with a Class C or Class B Misdemeanor, you have a federal and Utah right to a jury trial. In all justice courts, the jury has 3 people and possible one alternative juror. The jury must be unanimous, meaning they all vote to convict or they all vote to acquit (not guilty). If they can’t agree, it is a hung jury and a new trial may be prosecuted.
Long live the jury—It keeps us free from abusive, overreaching government. “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” Thomas Jefferson, 1788.
South Jordan Justice Court
10655 S Redwood Rd, South Jordan, UT 84095
Phone: (801) 446-4357
South Jordan Police Department
10655 S Redwood Rd, South Jordan, UT 84095
Phone: (801) 446-4357
South Jordan City Hall
1600 W Towne Center Dr, South Jordan, UT 84095
Phone: (801) 446-4357
Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office
3365 S 900 W, South Salt Lake, UT 84119
Phone: (385) 468-9898
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