Utah Code » Title 77, Chapter 38 — Crime Victims; part 77-38-1 — General Provisions
Utah Code

Utah Code § 77-38-2 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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For the purposes of this chapter and the Utah Constitution:

"Abuse" means treating the crime victim in a manner so as to injure, damage, or disparage.
"Dignity" means treating the crime victim with worthiness, honor, and esteem.
"Fairness" means treating the crime victim reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially.
"Harassment" means treating the crime victim in a persistently annoying manner.
"Important criminal justice hearings" or "important juvenile justice hearings" means the following proceedings in felony criminal cases or cases involving a minor's conduct which would be a felony if committed by an adult:
any preliminary hearing to determine probable cause;
any court arraignment where practical;
any court proceeding involving the disposition of charges against a defendant or minor or the delay of a previously scheduled trial date but not including any unanticipated proceeding to take an admission or a plea of guilty as charged to all charges previously filed or any plea taken at an initial appearance;
any court proceeding to determine whether to release a defendant or minor and, if so, under what conditions release may occur, excluding any such release determination made at an initial appearance;
any criminal or delinquency trial, excluding any actions at the trial that a court might take in camera, in chambers, or at a sidebar conference;
any court proceeding to determine the disposition of a minor or sentence, fine, or restitution of a defendant or to modify any disposition of a minor or sentence, fine, or restitution of a defendant;
a hearing regarding any criminal protective order described in Title 78B, Chapter 7, Part 8, Criminal Protective Orders; and
any public hearing concerning whether to grant a defendant or minor parole or other form of discretionary release from confinement.
"Reliable information" means information worthy of confidence, including any information whose use at sentencing is permitted by the United States Constitution.
"Representative of a victim" means a person who is designated by the victim or designated by the court and who represents the victim in the best interests of the victim.
"Respect" means treating the crime victim with regard and value.
"Victim of a crime" means any natural person against whom the charged crime or conduct is alleged to have been perpetrated or attempted by the defendant or minor personally or as a party to the offense or conduct or, in the discretion of the court, against whom a related crime or act is alleged to have been perpetrated or attempted, unless the natural person is the accused or appears to be accountable or otherwise criminally responsible for or criminally involved in the crime or conduct or a crime or act arising from the same conduct, criminal episode, or plan as the crime is defined under the laws of this state.
For purposes of the right to be present, "victim of a crime" does not mean any person who is in custody as a pretrial detainee, as a prisoner following conviction for an offense, or as a juvenile who has committed an act that would be an offense if committed by an adult, or who is in custody for mental or psychological treatment.
For purposes of the right to be present and heard at a public hearing as provided in Subsection 77-38-2(5)(h) and the right to notice as provided in Subsection 77-38-3(7)(a), "victim of a crime" includes any victim originally named in the allegation of criminal conduct who is not a victim of the offense to which the defendant entered a negotiated plea of guilty.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases, 1994–2020 · leading case: State v. Casey, 2002 UT 29 (Utah 2002).
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State v. Casey, 2002 UT 29 (Utah 2002). · cites it 14× “Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (5)(c) (1999). Thus, the plain language of the statute defines "important criminal justice hearings" as any proceeding involving the disposition of *763 felony charges against a defendant, with two notable exceptions: (1) a plea taken at an initial…”
State v. Lopez, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). · cites it 6× “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
State v. Westerman, 945 P.2d 695 (Utah Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 5× “For purposes of restitution, a victim has the meaning as defined in Section 77-38-2. Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201 (4)(a)(i) (Supp.”
State v. Worthen, 2009 UT 79 (Utah 2009). · cites it 2× “" Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (2), (8), & (8) (2008).”
State v. Stirba, 972 P.2d 918 (Utah Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 4× “Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (9)(a) (Supp.1997).”
State v. Dominguez, 1999 UT App 343 (Utah Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 4× “Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (Supp.1997). 3 See Utah Code Ann.”
State v. Beltran-Felix, 922 P.2d 30 (Utah Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 3× “I, § 28; Utah Code Ann. §§ 77-38-2 (5) & 4(1) (Supp.”
State v. Nielsen, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). · cites it 6× “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
West Valley City v. Walljasper, 2012 UT App 252 (Utah Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “I, § 28; Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (5)(f) (2008); id.”
State v. Brown, 2014 UT 48 (Utah 2014). “Urax CopE § 77-38-2(5)(D. ¶ 14 The right to be heard, however, is not the same as a right to file a pleading in a criminal case.”
State v. Harrison, 2001 UT 33 (Utah 2001). “§ 77-38-2(5); § 77-38-3; § 77-38-4(1) & (2) (stating that "[the Rights of Crime Victims Act] shall not confer any right to the victim of a crime to be heard: (a) at any criminal trial.”
Dall v. State, 888 P.2d 680 (Utah Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 6× “At the time Dali was committed to the jurisdiction of the PSRB, Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (6) (Supp.1990) provided for judicial review of the PSRB's decisions.”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(1) — 2 cases
State v. Lopez, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
State v. Nielsen, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(3) — 2 cases
State v. Lopez, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
State v. Nielsen, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(4) — 2 cases
State v. Lopez, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
State v. Nielsen, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(5) — 3 cases
State v. Casey, 2002 UT 29 (Utah 2002). “Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (5)(c) (1999). Thus, the plain language of the statute defines "important criminal justice hearings" as any proceeding involving the disposition of *763 felony charges against a defendant, with two notable exceptions: (1) a plea taken at an initial…”
State v. Brown, 2014 UT 48 (Utah 2014). “Urax CopE § 77-38-2(5)(D. ¶ 14 The right to be heard, however, is not the same as a right to file a pleading in a criminal case.”
State v. Harrison, 2001 UT 33 (Utah 2001). “§ 77-38-2(5); § 77-38-3; § 77-38-4(1) & (2) (stating that "[the Rights of Crime Victims Act] shall not confer any right to the victim of a crime to be heard: (a) at any criminal trial.”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(5)(b) — 1 case
State v. Casey, 2002 UT 29 (Utah 2002). “Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (5)(c) (1999). Thus, the plain language of the statute defines "important criminal justice hearings" as any proceeding involving the disposition of *763 felony charges against a defendant, with two notable exceptions: (1) a plea taken at an initial…”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(5)(e) — 1 case
State v. Beltran-Felix, 922 P.2d 30 (Utah Ct. App. 1996). “I, § 28; Utah Code Ann. §§ 77-38-2 (5) & 4(1) (Supp.”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(6) — 1 case
Dall v. State, 888 P.2d 680 (Utah Ct. App. 1994). “At the time Dali was committed to the jurisdiction of the PSRB, Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-2 (6) (Supp.1990) provided for judicial review of the PSRB's decisions.”
— Utah Code § 77-38-2(9)(a) — 3 cases
State v. Lopez, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
State v. Westerman, 945 P.2d 695 (Utah Ct. App. 1997). “For purposes of restitution, a victim has the meaning as defined in Section 77-38-2. Utah Code Ann. § 76-3-201 (4)(a)(i) (Supp.”
State v. Nielsen, 2020 UT 61 (Utah 2020). “Under Utah Code section 77-38-2, the victim’s right to “fairness” encompasses the right to be treated “reasonably, even-handedly, and impartially,” id.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.