Court Opinion

ID: 9790452
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:53:10.541273+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:29.636538
License: Public Domain

ORME, Judge
(concurring):
Although I am sympathetic to the concerns of Judge Christean given the heavy caseload of the Juvenile Court, I concur in Judge Greenwood’s opinion. However, I wish to comment on the contention that “the juvenile court should not be subject to ‘hyper-technical’ applications of the law.” It is true that viewing “technicalities” differently in cases where the best interests of children are in issue has become an accepted part of our jurisprudence. But in these cases, the rule or doctrine which has been moderated to accommodate the higher value of a child’s best interest is a rule or doctrine of the judiciary’s own making or the subject of considerable judicial refinement. See, e.g., In re E.M., 922 P.2d 1282,1284 (Utah.Ct.App.1996) (per curiam) (finality of judgments for purposes of appeal); In re J.P., 921 P.2d 1012, 1016-17 (Utah.CtApp.1996) (review of denial of Rule 59 motion), cert. denied, 931 P.2d 146 (Utah 1997); In re R.N.J., 908 P.2d 345, 350 (Utah.Ct.App.1995) (failure to argue plain error or exceptional circumstances); In re J.J.T., 877 P.2d 161, 163-64 (Utah.Ct.App.1994) (res judicata). And indeed, if the twelve-month mandate were a creature of, say, the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure, I would be open to the possibility of varying the rule’s application in appropriate situations.
*818But the law before us today is not a judicially developed rule or doctrine. On the contrary, it is a law, mandatory in nature, which has been enacted by the Legislature. Where laws passed by the Legislature are concerned, we simply do not enjoy the kind of flexibility we have with rules and doctrines that rely more on judicial interpretation than legislative enactment for their existence. If exceptions, escape hatches, or limitations to the mandates of section 78-3a-312 are desirable or necessary, it is for the Legislature to make them.