78A-5-103. District court case management -- Establishment of a division of the district court.

659 words·~3 min read·/ut/title-78a/chapter-5/78a-5-103·

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

Effective 1/1/2027

(1)As used in this section:

(a)"Debt collection or housing action" means a civil action in the district court:

(i)for forcible entry and detainer as described in Title 78B, Chapter 6, Part 8, Forcible Entry and Detainer; or

(ii)that is eligible to be filed as a debt collection case on or after January 1, 2027.

(b)"Municipal case" means a criminal case:

(i)filed in a district court by a city attorney on behalf of a municipality;

(ii)appealed from a municipal justice court to a district court; or

(iii)transferred to a district court by a municipal justice court.

(c)"Municipality" means the same as that term is defined in Section 10-1-104 .

(d)"Municipality's principal office" means the primary location where the municipality conducts official administrative business.

(2)The district court of each district shall develop systems of case management.

(3)The case management systems developed by a district court shall:

(a)ensure judicial accountability for the just and timely disposition of cases; and

(b)provide for each judge a full judicial workload that accommodates differences in the subject matter or complexity of cases assigned to different judges.

(a)The Judicial Council may establish divisions within the district court for the efficient management of different types of cases, including a division to manage any debt collection or housing action.

(b)Upon establishing a division under Subsection (4)(a) , the Judicial Council shall allocate sufficient resources from appropriations made by the Legislature for the division, including the appointment or hiring of commissioners or judicial assistants to staff the division.

(c)The existence of divisions within the court may not:

(i)affect the jurisdiction of the court nor the validity of court orders; or

(ii)impede public access to the courts.

(a)Notwithstanding the venue requirements in Title 78B, Chapter 3a, Venue for Civil Actions, for a debt collection or housing action, the district court shall transfer any debt collection or housing action to the division established under Subsection

(4)for centralized pretrial and post judgment case processing.

(b)The division may transfer a debt collection or housing action to a venue for which a district court determines is proper under Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 42, if:

(i)the debt collection or housing action is set for trial; or

(ii)the debt collection or housing action requires an evidentiary hearing that is not an evidentiary hearing under Title 78B, Chapter 6, Part 8, Forcible Entry and Detainer.

(i)Except as provided in Subsection (6)(b) , management of municipal cases, the presiding judge of each judicial district shall:

(A)assign at least one judge to hear a municipality's municipal cases;

(B)ensure that the number of judges assigned to hear a municipality's municipal cases does not exceed one judge for every 500 municipal cases that the municipality files, appeals, or transfers in the calendar year; and

(C)except as provided in Subsection (6)(a)(iii) , ensure that each municipal case is heard in the closest possible location to the municipality.

(ii)The location described in Subsection (6)(a)(i)(C) shall be measured by driving distance to the municipality's principal office.

(iii)A municipal case may be heard in a location other than the location described in Subsection (6)(a)(i)(C) if the presiding judge finds good cause for the municipal case to be heard in a different location.

(b)The requirements described in Subsection (6 )(a) do not apply to the management of a municipality's municipal cases if the municipality and the presiding judge of the judicial district enter into a memorandum of understanding that specifies a different arrangement for managing the municipality's municipal cases.

(7)To the extent possible, the district court of each district shall assign any case or proceeding involving the same child or family to a single judge.

Amended by Chapter 359 , 2026 General Session