17-72-301. General duties.

869 words·~4 min read·/ut/title-17/chapter-72/17-72-301

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Effective 5/6/2026

(1)The sheriff shall:

(a)preserve the peace;

(b)make all lawful arrests;

(i)attend in person or by deputy:

(A)the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals when required; or

(B)when the court is held within the sheriff's county, all courts of record, and court commissioner and referee sessions held within the sheriff's county;

(ii)obey a court's lawful orders and directions; and

(iii)comply with the court security rule, Rule 3-414, of the Utah Code of Judicial Administration;

(d)upon request of the juvenile court, aid the court in maintaining order during hearings and transport a minor to and from youth corrections facilities, other institutions, or other designated places;

(e)attend county justice courts if the judge finds that the matter before the court requires the sheriff's attendance for security, transportation, and escort of prisoners in the sheriff's custody, or for the custody of jurors;

(f)command the aid of as many inhabitants of the sheriff's county as the sheriff considers necessary in the execution of duties described in this section;

(g)take charge of and keep the county jail and prisoners in the county jail as described in Part 4, County Jails , and Part 5, Responsibility for Prisoners ;

(i)receive and safely keep all prisoners committed to the sheriff's custody;

(ii)file and preserve the commitments of prisoners; and

(iii)record the name, age, place of birth, and description of each prisoner;

(i)release on the record all attachments of real property when the attachment the sheriff receives has been released or discharged;

(j)endorse on all process and notices the year, month, day, hour, and minute of reception, and, upon payment of fees, issue a certificate to the individual delivering process or notice showing the names of the parties, title of paper, and the time of receipt;

(k)serve all process and notices as prescribed by Part 7 , Process Service and Duty to the Court, or any other provision of law;

(i)if the sheriff makes service of process or notice, certify on the process or notices the manner, time, and place of service; or

(ii)if the sheriff fails to make service, certify the reason upon the process or notice, and return them without delay;

(m)extinguish fires occurring in the undergrowth, trees, or wooded areas on the public land within the sheriff's county;

(n)perform as required by any contracts between the county and private contractors for management, maintenance, operation, and construction of county jails entered into under the authority of Section 17-65-405 ;

(o)manage and direct search and rescue services in the sheriff's county, including emergency medical responders and other related incident response activities;

(p)obtain saliva DNA specimens as required under Section 53-10-404 ;

(q)on or before January 1, 2003, adopt a written policy that prohibits the stopping, detention, or search of any person when the action is solely motivated by considerations of race, color, ethnicity, age, or gender;

(r)as applicable, select a representative of law enforcement to serve as a member of a child protection team, as defined in Section 80-1-102 ;

(s)appoint a county security chief in accordance with Section 53-22-103 and ensure the county security chief fulfills the county security chief's duties;

(t)ensure that a prisoner who is awaiting trial, sentencing, or disposition of criminal charges has:

(i)a private and confidential space to review discovery and other evidence or documents related to the prisoner's criminal case with the prisoner's counsel; and

(ii)the means to access and review discovery and other evidence or documents related to the prisoner's criminal case, with or without the prisoner's counsel, including the means to access and review digital, audio, video, or other technological evidence or documents; and

(u)perform any other duties that are required by law.

(a)Violation of Subsection (1)(j) is a class C misdemeanor.

(b)Violation of any other subsection under Subsection

(1)is a class A misdemeanor.

(a)A prisoner may access or review discovery, evidence, or other documents under Subsection (1)(t) with:

(i)technology provided by the jail; or

(ii)technology, including a computer, that is approved by the jail and is provided by the prisoner's counsel.

(b)If a prisoner's counsel leaves discovery, evidence, or other documents with the prisoner at the jail, the prisoner's counsel shall ensure that the discovery, evidence, or other documents does not include:

(i)any visual depiction of an individual who is younger than 18 years old;

(ii)any personal identifying information of an individual other than the prisoner;

(iii)any financial information of a person other than the prisoner;

(iv)any child sexual abuse material as defined in Section 76-5b-103 ;

(v)any apparent child sexual abuse material as defined in Section 76-5b-103 ;

(vi)any obscene child sexual abuse material as defined in Section 76-5b-103 ;

(vii)any intimate image as defined in Section 76-5b-203 ; or

(viii)any visual depiction or information for which possession is prohibited, by policy, at the jail.

(4)A sheriff shall comply with the requirements described in Section 53-29-308 for specific registered sex offenders.

Amended by Chapter 331 , 2026 General Session