District of Utah

The District of Utah: one statewide federal court

The District of Utah is the federal trial court for the whole state. Congress made Utah a single district, and 28 U.S.C. § 125 begins: "Utah constitutes one judicial district comprising two divisions." A federal case that starts in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, St. George, Moab or a small county seat is filed here. This page is part of our Federal Courts section, which looks at each district in turn.

Federal district courts hear federal crimes. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3231 they have "original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States." That is why a drug, fraud, firearms or child exploitation case that violates federal law is charged here rather than in a Utah state court.

The district is large and unusual. The United States Attorney's Office says it covers the entire state, 29 counties and over 82,000 square miles, and that "More than 70 percent of the land is public or within the boundaries of Indian reservations." The Goshute, Navajo, Ute, Paiute and Shoshone tribes have reservations in the district. The district also contains federal facilities such as Hill Air Force Base, Dugway Proving Grounds and Tooele Army Depot, and five national parks. Offenses on federal land, on reservations and at federal facilities are part of what this court hears.

Two statutory divisions, three groupings used by the court

The statute splits Utah into two divisions. The Northern Division "comprises the counties of Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Morgan, Rich, and Weber." The Central Division "comprises the counties of Beaver, Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Piute, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, and Wayne." That is 6 counties plus 23, or 29 in all.

The court's own pages group the same counties differently, into three:

• Northern: Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Morgan, Rich and Weber.
• Central: Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Juab, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah and Wasatch.
• Southern Region: Beaver, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Washington and Wayne.

The Southern Region was established on March 1, 2018, with St. George as its location for holding court. It sits inside the statutory Central Division, so the county lists do not conflict, only the structure. Cases from Southern Region counties receive a case number beginning with a "4" prefix.

The court also has a jury plan with two jury divisions. Those divisions decide which counties jurors are drawn from. They do not decide where your case is heard. Under the plan, if a trial is moved to a different jury division, jurors may come from one jury division's counties or from both.

Where your case is actually heard

The statute says where court is held. For the Northern Division, "Court for the Northern Division shall be held at Salt Lake City and Ogden." For the Central Division, the current text reads "Court for the Central Division shall be held at Salt Lake City, Provo, St. George, Moab, and Monticello".

In practice the court works mostly from two cities. The clerk's office has said the district has two active locations for holding court, Salt Lake City and St. George, and that "The Salt Lake City location is the primary place of holding court for cases arising in the Northern and Central Divisions." The court's General Order 25-002, entered July 8, 2025, sets a presumptive location by county. Cases from the Northern Division counties and from the Central Division counties outside the Southern Region are presumptively heard in Salt Lake City, and the order says "St. George is the presumptive location for court proceedings for all Southern Region cases." That can change: "the presumptive location for court proceedings, whether Salt Lake City or St. George, may be changed by motion or by the court on reasonable notice." The order also lets the United States Attorney's Office, case by case, designate Salt Lake City for Southern Region Indian country cases. The court's location pages do not list Ogden, Provo or Monticello. Your summons, indictment or release order names the courthouse, and a call to the clerk's office can confirm it.

Courthouses and the clerk's office

Salt Lake City. The Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse, 351 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, is described by the court as the only federally owned facility it uses. The court says all district judges have chambers and courtrooms in Salt Lake City. The clerk's office is in Room 1.100. The main number is 801-524-6100, and the office is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday through Friday. Jury assembly is in Suite 1.301 of the same building.

St. George. The court leases a courtroom and support space in the Fifth District Courthouse at 197 East Tabernacle Street, St. George, UT 84770. Civil, criminal and bankruptcy proceedings are conducted there. The court's contact page lists only the Salt Lake City clerk's office, so questions about St. George proceedings go through that number.

Other locations. The court lists additional places where criminal proceedings are held, all in state, town or tribal buildings:

• Vernal, at the Uintah County District Court, 920 US-40, about 200 miles from Salt Lake City, for monthly criminal proceedings and Tribal Reentry Court.
• Moab, at the Grand County District Court, 125 E. Center St., Moab, UT 84532, about 233 miles from Salt Lake City, for monthly criminal proceedings.
• Big Water, at the Big Water Town Hall near Lake Powell, 360 miles from Salt Lake City, for criminal proceedings each month in the summer season.
• Aneth, at the Navajo Nation district court facility in the Four Corners area, for monthly Tribal Reentry Court proceedings.

If your hearing is in one of these places, confirm the date and building with the clerk well ahead of time. Travel distances here are real, and a missed hearing can lead to a warrant.

One practical note on sealed filings: General Order 26-004, entered March 16, 2026, replaced General Order 25-004. Sealed and restricted documents are still filed in CM/ECF but are no longer accessible there after filing, so the parties must serve them by other means. That affects how sealed papers reach you and your lawyer.

Who prosecutes: the United States Attorney's Office

Federal crimes in Utah are prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Utah. It says its mission is to protect and serve the citizens of the district through enforcement of the laws of the United States. The office has about 85 employees, including 45 Assistant United States Attorneys.

The Salt Lake City office is at 111 South Main Street, Suite 1800, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111-2176, telephone (801) 524-5682. The St. George office is at 20 North Main Street, Suite 208, St. George, Utah 84770, telephone (435) 634-4270. The St. George branch opened in 2008 and is primarily responsible for federal criminal matters arising in southwestern Utah, including drugs, firearms, immigration, bank robberies, child pornography and exploitation, and fraud.

The Criminal Division handles all criminal investigations and prosecutions for the office. Its sections are Financial Crime; National Security and Cyber Crime; Organized Crimes and Drug; Securities Fraud; and Violent Crimes, plus the Saint George Branch. A drug charge points toward the Organized Crimes and Drug Section, while a white collar case may sit with the Financial Crime or Securities Fraud sections. Knowing which section holds a case tells you something about how the government sees it.

The Federal Public Defender and the CJA panel

A person who cannot afford a lawyer can ask the court to appoint one. The Federal Public Defender Office for the District of Utah was created in 1999 to represent people charged with federal crimes under the Criminal Justice Act of 1964. It is assigned cases by the district courts in Salt Lake City and St. George and by the Tenth Circuit. It lists work including white collar, immigration, computer and technology offenses, drug and firearms cases, and charges originating on Utah's tribal lands.

The Salt Lake City office is at American Towers Plaza, 46 West Broadway, Suite 110, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. The St. George office is at 120 E St. George Blvd, Suite 202, St. George, UT 84770. Both use 801-524-4010.

The Criminal Justice Act "establishes a system for the judicial appointment and compensation for attorneys representing people who are financially unable to retain counsel in federal criminal proceedings". The Federal Public Defender's CJA team administers Utah's CJA panel of private attorneys, who can be appointed in cases the office does not take, for example when there is a conflict. Ask for appointed counsel at your first appearance. Do not wait.

Pretrial services and probation

Pretrial services is part of the court's probation office, and it is often your first contact with the court's staff after an arrest. The office describes pretrial as the period after arrest and before the charges are resolved. An officer gathers information through interviews and records checks, then reports to the judge so the judge can decide whether you can be released or should be detained. If you are released, the officer supervises you to make sure you are not a danger to anyone, that release conditions are met and that you attend every hearing.

The probation and pretrial office has a Salt Lake City location in the Hatch courthouse, Suite 5.400, and a St. George office at 134 N. 200 E., Suite 101, St. George, UT 84770. The local number is 801.535.2700, and the toll free number is 866.222.2585. The office lists programs such as RISE drug court and behavioral health court, the Tribal Community Reentry Court, Utah Alternatives to Conviction (U-ACT), Veterans Court, location monitoring and computer and internet monitoring.

Probation officers appear again before sentencing. They write the presentence report, which shapes the sentencing discussion. Local rule DUCrimR 32-1 gives 14 days after the initial report is disclosed to send objections in writing to the probation officer and the other side, and the rule says objections must not be filed with the court.

The first days of a federal case

An arrest is followed by an initial appearance before a magistrate judge, where you learn the charge and your rights, and where the question of appointed counsel is raised. If the government asks for detention, a hearing follows under 18 U.S.C. § 3142. A judge orders detention only if the judge finds that "no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community". Our page on federal detention hearings explains the factors.

In this district, local rule DUCrimR 5-1 adds a step. When the government requests detention, the magistrate judge requests a report from the probation office, and the report must address presumptions of detention. Defense counsel may discuss and review it with you. If a magistrate judge detains or releases you, DUCrimR 57-10 lets a party ask for review, and the district judge schedules a de novo hearing.

Felony charges generally come by indictment from a grand jury. After indictment you are arraigned, enter a plea, and the discovery process begins.

Local criminal rules: DUCrimR

The district's local criminal rules are cited as "DUCrimR", for example DUCrimR 12-1. Always check that you are reading the edition in force on your case dates. Several of these rules change what a defendant and a lawyer must do:

• Motions. A response to a motion is due within 14 days after service, and a reply within 7 days after service of the opposing memorandum. "Failure to timely respond to a motion may result in the court granting the motion without any further notice." A suppression motion must state the standing, the evidence at issue and the legal grounds without an accompanying brief. Joinders to another party's motion are not allowed under DUCrimR 12-2.
• Continuances. A motion to continue under the Speedy Trial Act must identify the event that started the clock, prior continuances and the statutory basis for excluding time, and must come with a proposed order.
• Discovery. The parties must make reasonable efforts to agree on a pretrial exchange before asking the court for help. A general order sets guidelines for electronic discovery, and expert disclosures are due 30 days before the final pretrial conference.
• Plea agreements. In a felony case a plea agreement must be in writing, signed by the government, defense counsel and the defendant, with a written stipulation of facts. Cooperation agreements must also be in writing and signed.
• Subpoenas. A party who wants documents or objects from a witness files a motion for a subpoena under Rule 17(c), which may be filed ex parte.
• Sentencing. Under DUCrimR 32-1, probation files the report no fewer than 7 days before sentencing, sentencing memoranda are due no fewer than 7 days before, and materials about the defendant go to probation no later than 10 days before the hearing.

The rules also let the court sanction a lawyer or a party for violating them. Courts apply these deadlines strictly, so the calendar needs attention from day one.

Appeals go to the Tenth Circuit

Appeals from the District of Utah go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The statute directs appeals "From a district court of the United States to the court of appeals for the circuit embracing the district;" and the circuit table lists the Tenth as "Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming." Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b)(1)(A), a defendant's notice of appeal in a criminal case must be filed in the district court within 14 days after the later of the entry of the judgment or order being appealed, or the filing of the government's notice of appeal. Our page on federal appeals explains the process. Federal sentencing comes first, and decisions made then affect what can be appealed.

A note on penalties

Penalty figures on this site are statutory maximums or guideline ranges. They are not predictions. Drug quantity, loss amounts, criminal history and the judge's view of the conduct all affect the real result, and a mandatory minimum may apply to some charges.

Talking to a lawyer about a case in the District of Utah

A first conversation goes better with documents in hand. Bring or send:

• Any summons, indictment, complaint, warrant, release order or target letter, with the case number if you have it. The number's first digit can hint at the division.
• The name of the courthouse and the date of your next hearing, and any note on who told you where to appear.
• Contact details for any pretrial services or probation officer you have spoken with, and a list of your release conditions.
• Records showing where you live and work, family ties and any treatment or medical history, which matter at a detention hearing.
• A written timeline of events, plus the names of any agents who contacted you.
• Phones, devices and papers that agents took or asked about, and a list of what was seized.

Do not discuss the facts with anyone but your lawyer, and do not contact witnesses. If you cannot afford a lawyer, say so at your first appearance so the court can consider appointing one. If you want to talk through a case in this court, you can request a consultation.

Federal representation outside California is subject to applicable court admission requirements. Pro hac vice admission and association with local counsel may be required.