How Does The Utah District Court Work?

The Utah District Court is the state’s trial court of general jurisdiction. There are eight judicial districts in Utah containing thirty-seven district courts located in different county areas. Cases heard at the district court includes:

• All civil cases
• All criminal felonies
• Selected misdemeanor offenses
• Domestic relations cases (divorce, child custody, child and family support, adoption, and probate)
• Traffic violations

The District Court has appellate jurisdiction to hear informal adjudicative proceedings from administrative agencies. The court also hears appeals involving small claims from the justice court and municipal ordinance appeals.

In civil cases, a plaintiff or petitioner files a complaint with the District Court. A summons is also filed, which directs the defendant or respondent to answer to the complaint. The documents filed are served to the defendant within 120 days from the filing date. The defendant is required to answer the complaint within twenty-one days after the day of service. However, the time may be shorter in eviction cases. Failure to respond to a complaint within the stipulated time may result in the court entering a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

The process of a criminal case in the District court begins with a first appearance where the defendants are formally notified of their criminal charges. In felony cases and class A misdemeanor cases, a preliminary hearing follows to establish if a probable cause exists to ascertain the defendant committed the crime(s). After the arraignment, the defendant must enter a plea bargain of guilty, not guilty, or no contest. The case then proceeds to trial.

The District Courts have a total of seventy-one judges that serve a four-year term. After a term finishes, the judges will have to participate in a retention election. The judges are nominated by the Governor, and a majority vote of the General Assembly confirms the nomination.

Persons looking to obtain records of the District Court proceedings may use the Xchange Case Search to access information stored in the Courts Information System at the courthouse. Persons may also visit the locations of the courthouse, where the proceedings occurred, at the applicable address below:

1st Judicial District - Box Elder, Cache, and Rich Counties
Box Elder County
43 North Main
P.O. Box 873
Brigham City, UT 84302
Phone: (435) 734–4600
Fax: (435) 734–4610

Cache County
135 North 100 West
Logan, UT 84321
Phone: (435) 750–1300
Fax: (435) 750–1355

Rich County Courthouse
20 South Main
Randolph, UT 84064
Phone: (435) 793–2415
Fax: (435) 793–2410

2nd Judicial District - Davis, Morgan, and Weber counties
Davis County (Bountiful)
805 South Main Street
Bountiful, UT 84010
Phone: (801) 397–7008
Fax: (801) 397–7010

Davis County (Farmington)
800 West State Street
P.O. Box 769
Farmington, UT 84025

Phone: (801) 447–3800
Fax: (801) 447–3881

Davis County (Layton)
425 North Wasatch Drive
Layton, UT 84041
Phone: (801) 444–4300
Fax: (801) 546–8224

Morgan County
48 West Young Street
P.O. Box 466
Morgan, UT 84050
Phone: (385) 350–9170

Weber County
2525 Grant Avenue
Ogden, UT 84401
Phone: (801) 395–1079
Fax: (801) 395–1182

3rd Judicial District - Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties
Salt Lake County (Salt Lake City)
450 South State Street
P.O. Box 1860
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Phone: (801) 238–7300

Salt Lake County (West Jordan)
8080 South Redwood Road
Suite 1701
West Jordan, UT 84088
Phone: (801) 233–9700

Summit County
6300 Justice Center Road
Suite A
Park City, UT 84098
Phone: (435) 615–4300
Fax: (435) 615–4619

Tooele County
Gordon R. Hall Courthouse
74 South 100 East
Suite 14
Tooele, UT 84074
Phone: (435) 833–8000
Fax: (435) 833–8058

4th Judicial DistrictJuab, Millard, Utah and Wasatch counties
Juab County
102 East 200 North
Nephi, UT 84648
Phone: (435) 623–0901
Fax: (435) 623–0922

Millard County
765 South Highway 99
Suite 6
Fillmore, UT 84631
Phone: (435) 743–6223
Fax: (435) 743–6923

Utah County (American Fork)
75 East 80 North
Suite 202
American Fork, UT 84003
Phone: (801) 756–9654
Fax: (801) 763–0153

Utah County (Provo)
125 North 100 West
Provo, UT 84601
Phone: (801) 429–1000
Fax: (801) 429–1033

Utah County (Salem)
30 West 100 South
P.O. Box 901
Salem, UT 84653
Phone: (801) 423–2770
Fax: (801) 423–2818

Utah County (Spanish Fork)
775 West Center
Spanish Fork, UT 84660
Phone: (801) 804–4800
Fax: (801) 804–4699

Wasatch County
1361 South Highway 40
Suite 110
Heber City, UT 84032
Phone: (435) 654–4676
Fax: (435) 654–5281

5th Judicial District - Beaver, Iron, and Washington counties
Beaver County
2270 South 525 West
P.O. Box 1683
Beaver, UT 84713
Phone: (435) 38–5309
Fax: (435) 438–5395

Iron County (Cedar City)
40 North 100 East
Cedar City, UT 84720
Phone: (435) 867–3250
Fax: (435) 867–3212

Iron County (Parowan)
P.O. Box 608
Parowan, UT 84761
Phone: (435) 867–3250
Fax: (435) 867–3212

Washington County
206 West Tabernacle
Suite 100
St. George, UT 84770
Phone: (435) 986–5700
Fax: (435) 986–5723

6th Judicial District - Garfield, Kane, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne counties
Garfield County
Garfield County Courthouse
55 South Main Street
P.O. Box 77
Panguitch, UT 84759
Phone: (435) 676–1104
Fax: (435) 676–8629

Kane County
Kane County Courthouse
76 North Main Street
Kanab, UT 84741
Phone: (435) 644–4601
Fax: (435) 644–4639

Piute County
Piute County Courthouse
550 North Main Street
P.O. Box 99
Junction, UT 84740
Phone: (435) 577–2840
Fax: (435) 577–2802

Sevier County
895 East 300 North
Richfield, UT 84701
Phone: (435) 896–2700
Fax: (435) 896–2743

Sanpete County
Sanpete County Courthouse
160 North Main
P.O. Box 219
Manti, UT 84642
Phone: (435) 835–2121
Fax: (435) 835–2134

Wayne County
Wayne County Courthouse
18 South Main Street
P.O. Box 189
Loa, UT 84747
Phone: (435) 836–1301
Fax: (435) 836–2479

7th Judicial District - Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan counties
Carbon County
149 East 100 South
Price, UT 84501
Phone: (435) 636–3400

Emery County
1850 North 560 West
P.O. Box 635
Castle Dale, UT 84513
Phone: (435) 381–5419

San Juan County
297 South Main Street
P.O. Box 68
Monticello, UT 84535
Phone: (435) 587–2122

Grand County
125 East Center Street
Moab, UT 84532
Phone: (435) 259–1355

8th Judicial District - Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah counties
Daggett County
95 North 100 West
P.O. Box 400
Manila, UT 84046
Phone: (435) 784–3154
Fax: (435) 784–3335

Duchesne County (Duchesne)
21554 West 9000 South
P.O. Box 990
Duchesne, UT 84021
Phone: (435) 738–2753
Fax: (435) 738–2754

Duchesne County (Roosevelt)
255 South State
P.O. Box 1286
Roosevelt, UT 84066
Phone: (435) 722–0235
Fax: (435) 722–0236

Uintah County
920 East Highway 40,
Vernal, UT 84078
Phone: (435) 781–9300