The Criminal Appeals Division is responsible for representing the State of Utah in all felony criminal appeals statewide, including before the Utah Court of Appeals, the Utah Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court. The Division also represents the State of Utah in all state-court litigation under the Utah Postconviction Remedies Act and all federal-court litigation in federal habeas corpus cases. The Division intervenes to defend criminal statutes against constitutional challenges in both trial and appellate courts. And it also participates in friend-of-the-court briefing on major constitutional issues before the United States Supreme Court.
In addition to its litigation mission, the Criminal Appeals Division carries a substantial advisory and training role. It consults with the Utah Legislature on criminal justice policy. It advises local prosecutors on complex and emerging questions of law. And it provides training presentations for lawyers around the state.
Given the broad nature of the Division’s work, its attorneys are expected to be experts in all aspects of criminal law and procedure. And this is reflected in their highly competitive backgrounds. Members of the Division have graduated at the top of their classes from Utah’s universities (including Brigham Young University, Utah State University, the University of Utah) and from national universities including Dartmouth, Stanford, and the University of Virginia. Members of the Division have also edited for or been published in a wide range of prestigious legal journals, including the BYU Law Review, the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, the Stanford Journal of International Law, the Utah Bar Journal, the Utah Law Review, the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, and the University of Virginia’s Journal of Law and Politics.
Members of the Division have also served in a wide range of appellate clerkships, including with the Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Court of Appeals; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 3rd, 7th, and 10th Circuits; multiple federal district courts; and the Arizona Court of Appeals, the D.C. Court of Appeals, the Nebraska Supreme Court, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Finally, members of the Division also serve as leaders in Utah’s legal community. They have taught as adjunct professors at Arizona State University, BYU’s J. Ruben Clark Law School, Loyola University Chicago, the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney School of Law, and Weber State University. And they routinely serve in leadership roles in Utah’s Appellate Bar Association, on Utah Supreme Court advisory committees, and in the Statewide Association of Prosecutors and Public Attorneys.
