77-20-201. Right to bail — Capital felony.
| (1) |
An individual charged with, or arrested for, a criminal offense shall be admitted to bail as a matter of right, except if the individual is charged with:
Terms Used In Utah Code 77-20-201- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Bail: means pretrial release. See Utah Code 77-20-102
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
| (a) |
a capital felony when there is substantial evidence to support the charge; |
| (b) |
a felony committed while on parole or on probation for a felony conviction, or while free on bail awaiting trial on a previous felony charge, when there is substantial evidence to support the current felony charge; |
| (c) |
a felony when there is substantial evidence to support the charge and the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that:
| (i) |
the individual would constitute a substantial danger to any other individual or to the community after considering available conditions of release that the court may impose if the individual is released on bail; or |
| (ii) |
the individual is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court if the individual is released on bail; |
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| (d) |
a felony when there is substantial evidence to support the charge and the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the individual violated a material condition of release while previously on bail; |
| (e) |
a domestic violence offense if:
| (i) |
there is substantial evidence to support the charge; and |
| (ii) |
the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the individual would constitute a substantial danger to an alleged victim of domestic violence after considering available conditions of release that the court may impose if the individual is released on bail; |
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| (f) |
the offense of driving under the influence or driving with a measurable controlled substance in the body if:
| (i) |
the offense results in death or serious bodily injury to an individual; |
| (ii) |
there is substantial evidence to support the charge; and |
| (iii) |
the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the individual would constitute a substantial danger to the community after considering available conditions of release that the court may impose if the individual is released on bail; or |
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| (g) |
a felony violation of Section 76-9-101 if:
| (i) |
there is substantial evidence to support the charge; and |
| (ii) |
the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the individual is not likely to appear for a subsequent court appearance. |
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| (2) |
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, there is a rebuttable presumption that an individual is a substantial danger to the community under Subsection (1)(f)(iii):
| (a) |
as long as the individual has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .05 grams or greater if the individual is arrested for, or charged with, the offense of driving under the influence and the offense resulted in death or serious bodily injury to an individual; or |
| (b) |
if the individual has a measurable amount of controlled substance in the individual’s body, the individual is arrested for, or charged with, the offense of driving with a measurable controlled substance in the body and the offense resulted in death or serious bodily injury to an individual. |
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| (3) |
For purposes of Subsection (1)(a), any arrest or charge for a violation of Section 76-5-202, aggravated murder, is a capital felony unless:
| (a) |
the prosecuting attorney files a notice of intent to not seek the death penalty; or |
| (b) |
the time for filing a notice to seek the death penalty has expired and the prosecuting attorney has not filed a notice to seek the death penalty. |
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Amended by Chapter 408, 2023 General Session
