(1)  Documents classified as private, protected, or sealed by court rule and are provided to a pro se litigant in the course of an action or in accordance with Subsection 63G-2-202(7) may not be distributed, released, or displayed to any other person except the court, the other party and their counsel, or any other person who may be authorized by the court to inspect the documents.

Attorney's Note

Under the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class B misdemeanorup to 6 monthsup to $1,000
For details, see Utah Code § 76-3-204

Terms Used In Utah Code 78A-2-229

  • 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.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
(2)  Pro se litigants shall be advised by the court that private, protected, or sealed documents received by the party that the party would not have received but for the litigation and pro se representation are confidential and may not be distributed outside the parties or the court without prior authorization by the court. A court’s failure to give this notice may not be used as a defense to prosecution for a violation of the disclosure rule.

(3)  Violation of this section is:

(a)  punishable by contempt if distribution or release occurs before a final determination is made by the court and the court still has jurisdiction over the parties; or

(b)  a class B misdemeanor if the litigation has been concluded and the court no longer has jurisdiction over the parties.

Enacted by Chapter 247, 2010 General Session