SB 204: Right to Appeal Amendments - Utah

Substitute #3 → Enrolled · 6 edits · Mar 26, 2025

MODERATE

This bill grants the Utah Supreme Court the authority to hear appeals regarding injunctive orders that block state laws, while explicitly removing that jurisdiction from the Court of Appeals. It defines key terms like 'injunctive order' and 'governmental entity' to clarify who can appeal and under what conditions. The legislation also establishes that the Supreme Court will review these cases to determine if the state law is unconstitutional and waives the requirement for the state to post a bond when appealing.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction to include specific civil actions involving challenges to state laws, while simultaneously narrowing the Court of Appeals' jurisdiction by excluding these specific injunctive order appeals.

SCOPE

Added new appellate jurisdiction for the Supreme Court over appeals of injunctive orders that restrain the enforcement of state laws.

Removed appellate jurisdiction over injunctive orders from the Court of Appeals, reserving these cases exclusively for the Supreme Court.

DEFINITION

Created new definitions for 'Defendant', 'Governmental entity', 'Injunctive order', 'Plaintiff', and 'State law' to clarify the bill's application.

REQUIREMENT

Established a specific two-step review process for the Supreme Court to determine if the trial court decision was correct and if there is a likelihood the plaintiff will prevail on unconstitutionality claims.

ENFORCEMENT

Waived the requirement for a governmental entity to post a bond when appealing an injunctive order under this new section.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the bill as May 7, 2025, and applied it to actions pending on or after that date.

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to change the legal terminology from 'suspensive appeal' to 'right to an appeal of an injunctive order,' removing the specific procedural requirement for a trial court to make a written finding on the likelihood of success before an appeal can be filed, and simplifying the rules to allow defendants to immediately appeal injunctive orders based on unconstitutionality.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains the same (actions pending on or after May 7, 2025), but the procedural path for exercising the right to appeal was simplified by removing the intermediate 'motion for a finding' step.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for a trial court to issue a written finding regarding the likelihood of success before a defendant can file an appeal.

DEFINITION

Changed the term 'suspensive appeal' to 'right to an appeal of an injunctive order' throughout the text to reflect the simplified process.

TECHNICAL

Updated the definition of 'injunctive order' to explicitly include orders that 'restrain or enjoin' the execution of state law.

Substitute #2 → Substitute #3 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill adds a new right to appeal injunctive orders that block state laws from being enforced. Previously, the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction did not explicitly include appeals of such orders, but this bill clarifies that the Supreme Court now has jurisdiction over appeals of injunctive orders when they challenge the constitutionality of state laws on their face. The Court of Appeals is explicitly excluded from hearing these appeals, ensuring they go directly to the Supreme Court.

Scope change

The bill expands the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction to include appeals of injunctive orders that restrain enforcement of state laws, while removing such appeals from the Court of Appeals' jurisdiction. This creates a direct path to the Supreme Court for constitutional challenges to state laws via injunctive orders.

SCOPE

Added new appellate jurisdiction for the Supreme Court to hear appeals of injunctive orders that challenge the constitutionality of state laws on their face.

Removed appellate jurisdiction over injunctive order appeals from the Court of Appeals, ensuring these cases go directly to the Supreme Court.

DEFINITION

Created new definitions for 'Defendant', 'Governmental entity', 'Injunctive order', and 'State law' to clarify who can appeal and what types of orders are covered.

REQUIREMENT

Established that governmental entities bringing these appeals are not required to post a bond, making it easier for the state to challenge injunctions.

TECHNICAL

Made technical corrections to jurisdiction language and formatting throughout the judicial code sections.

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill adds a right to appeal injunctive orders that temporarily stop state laws from being enforced, and adjusts the jurisdiction of Utah's Supreme Court and Court of Appeals to handle these appeals. It also makes technical corrections to existing court jurisdiction statutes.

Scope change

The bill expands appellate jurisdiction to include appeals of injunctive orders, which previously were not explicitly covered under the Supreme Court's appellate authority.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new right to appeal injunctive orders when a defendant claims a state law is unconstitutional on its face.

DEFINITION

Defined key terms including 'defendant', 'governmental entity', 'injunctive order', and 'state law' for the new appeal provision.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement for governmental entities to post a bond when appealing injunctive orders.

SCOPE

Expanded the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction to include appeals of injunctive orders described in the new section.

Modified the Court of Appeals jurisdiction to exclude appeals of injunctive orders, reserving them for the Supreme Court.

TECHNICAL

Corrected text formatting and removed duplicate language in Supreme Court and Court of Appeals jurisdiction sections.

TIMELINE

Established May 7, 2025 as the effective date for the new appeal rights and related provisions.

Right to Appeal Amendments

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