HJR 28 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Joint Resolution Amending Court Rules Related to Capital Felony Cases

HJR 28 amends Utah court rules to create a new procedure for remanding non-capital felony appeals (cases without a death sentence) to trial courts. It allows defendants to request the appellate court send their case back for factual findings about claims of ineffective legal counsel, requiring specific evidence and limiting the process to 90 days. The bill explicitly excludes capital felony cases (with death sentences) from this remand process. This affects defendants in non-capital felony appeals challenging their attorneys' performance, providing a structured way to address incomplete records without changing the death penalty process.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action Mar 17, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute #1 → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 7, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates court rules for death penalty cases. It clarifies that courts cannot use a specific 'remand' process for ineffective assistance of counsel claims in death penalty cases, while keeping that process available for other serious crimes. It also reorganizes the rules for staying death sentences, adding specific triggers for automatic stays and clarifying when those stays must end.

Scope change

The scope of the 'remand for findings' procedure was narrowed to exclude capital cases with a death sentence, while the scope of stay-of-execution rules was expanded to include more specific triggers for automatic stays.

ELIGIBILITY

The ability to request a court remand for findings on ineffective assistance of counsel was restricted; this specific procedure is no longer available for capital cases with a death sentence.

REQUIREMENT

New specific conditions were added that automatically trigger a temporary stay of a death sentence, including when counsel is appointed or when the defendant is found to be pregnant.

TIMELINE

The rules were updated to specify exactly when automatic stays of execution must be lifted, such as when a defendant is found competent or when a specific review process concludes.

TECHNICAL

The text was reorganized and renumbered to improve clarity, and the effective date of the resolution was changed from February to March 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2026 · House Feb 27, 2026

How they voted

21–6

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 29

Mar 6, 2026

D Democratic6

6 Nay

100% Nay

N Forward1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican22

20 Yea 2

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee]

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee]

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee]

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ committee report favorable [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor