Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, is pictured in the House chamber at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Feb. 25, 2022
Mengshin Lin, Deseret News
A resolution aimed at making it easier to overturn the hold on Utah’s trigger abortion ban could have broad consequences, and legal experts say it would rob attorneys of a key tool used to protect children in domestic relations cases.
That’s not what resolution sponsor Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, said during discussion on the House floor on Monday. When asked if HJR2 would have any impact on family law cases, Brammer gave an emphatic “no.”
“There have been these statements that this applies to all of the family laws that could exist in the world,” he said. “Lines 119 to 120 (of the resolution) specifically say nothing in this rule is construed to limit the equitable powers of the courts and domestic relations cases. This does not apply to family law.”
While the resolution does retain language in the rule about domestic relations cases — also known as a “catch-all provision” — it strikes one of the key provisions family law attorneys use to protect children in domestic relations and custody cases.
“I would say that’s wrong,” said family law attorney Dani Hawkes, when asked about Brammer’s characterization of the resolution on the House floor. “I would say this will have a major impact on family law cases and that catch-all provision at the bottom of the rule has been there (for years), and it doesn’t help with this rule.”
Brammer said he spoke to the courts and “numerous family law attorneys,” and he has yet to hear of a court order that would be impacted by his resolution.
“Not a single order has been provided,” he told KSL.com in an email. “In fact, the family law firm that I contacted is the largest family law firm in the state to my knowledge and they said they have never made an application, let alone received a ruling, under this rule.”
HJR2 — which passed out of the House on Monday — would change Utah’s civil court Rule 65A to raise the bar for judges to issue preliminary injunctions. Rather than allowing judges to issue …read more
Source:: Deseret News – Utah News