July 26th 2022

WHAT CRIMINAL CASES ARE HANDLED IN THE OREM CITY JUSTICE COURT?

The OREM City Justice Court only handles Class B Misdemeanors and below, along with civil small claims matters up to $15,000. Specifically all traffic matters are handled in the court, consisting of the Class B, Class C and Infractions.

TYPES OF MISDEMEANORS IN THE OREM CITY JUSTICE COURT

A misdemeanor is an offense lower than a felony which can be punished with a county jail term of up to 364 days, a fine, or both. Many city and county ordinances and some state laws are misdemeanors. There are three categories of misdemeanors.

Class A Misdemeanors:

Not prosecuted in the justice court system, but in district court. 0-364 days in the county jail. Up to a $2,500 fine.

Class B Misdemeanors:

0-6 months in the county jail. Up to $1,000 fine or compensatory service.

Class C Misdemeanors:

0-90 days in the county jail. Up to $750 fine or compensatory service.

Infractions:

An infraction is punishable by a fine up to $750, compensatory service, forfeiture, disqualification, or a combination of those punishments.

OREM CITY JUSTICE COURT JUDGE:

Judge Reed S. Parkin has been the Orem City Justice Court judge since 2010. Prior to that he served Herriman, Heber City and Bluffdale.

OREM City does not prosecute often under its OREM City Ordinances, although there are several Class B Misdemeanors and below listed in the OREM City Code. See parts of the OREM City criminal code HERE: https://orem.org/city-code/

OREM CITY JUSTICE COURT SMALL CLAIMS

Most every justice court in Utah as a Small Claims department within them. As of 2022, the money limit in small claims was raised to $15,000 including attorney fees if any and excluding post judgement interest and costs.

Contract disputes, general civil litigation, including car accident personal injury cases are tried in the OREM City Justice Court Small Claims division. You can not sue the government in any small claims court and you are not required to have an attorney. Business which normally can’t represent themselves, can in small claims.

WHERE IS THE OREM CITY JUSTICE COURT LOCATED?

The OREM City Justice Court is located on Center Street in Orem at: 97 E Center St, Orem, UT 84057. It co-located with a Fourth Judicial District Juvenile Court.

WHO PROSECUTES IN THE OREM CITY JUSTICE COURT?

The OREM City Attorney’s Office prosecutes all crimes in the OREM City Justice Court. The OREM City Attorney’s Office does not charge or prosecute felonies. All Felonies are prosecuted by the Utah County Attorney’s Office, and sometimes by the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

OREM City office policies can be found HERE: https://orem.org/legal/

COMMON CRIMES CHARGED IN THE OREM CITY JUSTICE COURT

(1). Traffic Offenses. Nearly every traffic offense listed in the Utah Traffic Code. Utah Code 41-6a-101 et seq. Over 200 points or near 200 points on your Utah driver’s license will suspend you.

(2). DV Charges. Domestic violence charges. Assault, battery, electronic communications harassment, unlawful detention or unlawful detention of a minor, certain disorderly conduct charges, child abuse, etc. The full listing of all domestic violence criminal charges in Utah can be found at Utah Code 77-36-1, https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title77/Chapter36/77-36-S1.html

(3). DUI/DWI. DUI/Drunk driving, drugged driving, impaired driving, metabolite driving.

(4). Reckless Driving. It is now presumed reckless driving when speeding over 105 mph.

(5). Drugs. Simple drug possession. Marijuana possession. Drug paraphernalia possession.

CALL/TXT OREM CITY CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY JAKE GUNTER AT (801) 373-6345 FOR A FREE CONSULTATION.