The Utah State Bar sent a letter to members on Thursday asking them to contact lawmakers about several pieces of legislation they say could be unconstitutional because "they undermine the fundamental principle of separation of powers."
There are five bills that have raised concerns among Bar members:
- SB203 – The bill limits who would have standing to bring a lawsuit. The letter says the legislation from Sen. Brady Brammer "attempts to change long-standing common law principles of standing."
- SB204 – This bill, also sponsored by Sen. Brammer, gives the government the ability to appeal a court ruling that a law is unconstitutional directly to the Utah Supreme Court. The law would also remain in effect during the appeal instead of putting it on hold.
"It appears to usurp judicial authority by placing the status of the injunction in the hands of the defendant," the letter from the Bar reads. - SB154 and SJR4– Both sponsored by Sen. Brammer give legislative auditors the authority to require the disclosure of privileged information.
"This legislation attempts to govern the practice of law by altering the nature of the attorney client privilege and the ability for a government client to rely on the confidentiality of the communications with their counsel." - HB451 – This bill, sponsored by Rep. Jason Kyle, raises the percentage of the vote required for a judge to keep their job in a judicial retention election from a simple majority to 67%.
"This increased percentage vote would be the highest in the nation. This extremely high threshold will make it difficult to attract and retain qualified judges. This will allow outside and special interests to campaign against judges when they only have to convince 1/3 of the populace to vote against a judge," the Bar letter explains.
