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