Domestic Violence Amendments

11
77-36-2.2
77-36-2.6
0
Domestic Violence Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Stephanie Pitcher
House Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses domestic violence.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
modifies the requirements for responding to an allegation of a domestic violence offense;
amends the appearance requirements for a domestic violence offense; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
77-36-2.2
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 447
77-36-2.6
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 159
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
77-36-2.2
is amended to read:
77-36-2.2
. Powers and duties of law enforcement officers to arrest -- Reports of
domestic violence cases -- Reports of parties' marital status.
(1)
The primary duty of law enforcement officers responding to a
domestic violence call
call regarding a domestic violence offense
is to protect the victim and enforce the law.
(2)
(a)
In addition to the arrest powers described in Section
77-7-2
, when a peace officer
responds to a
domestic violence call
call regarding a domestic violence offense
and
has probable cause to believe that
an act of domestic violence
a domestic violence
offense
has been committed, the peace officer shall arrest without a warrant
,
or
shall
issue a citation to
,
any
person
individual
that the peace officer has probable cause to
believe has committed
an act of domestic violence
a domestic violence offense
.
(b)
(i)
If the peace officer has probable cause to believe that there will be continued
violence against the alleged victim, or if there is evidence that the perpetrator has
either recently caused serious bodily injury or used a dangerous weapon in the
domestic violence offense, the officer shall
:

(A)
arrest and take the alleged perpetrator into custody
, and
; and
(B)
may not utilize the option of issuing a citation under this section.
(ii)
For purposes of Subsection
(2)(b)(i)
, "serious bodily injury" and "dangerous
weapon" mean the same as those terms are defined in Section
76-1-101.5
.
(c)
If a peace officer does not immediately exercise arrest powers or initiate criminal
proceedings by citation or otherwise, the officer shall notify the victim of the right to
initiate a criminal proceeding and of the importance of preserving evidence, in
accordance with the requirements of Section
77-36-2.1
.
(3)
(a)
If a law enforcement officer receives complaints of domestic violence
offenses

from two or more opposing persons, the officer shall evaluate each complaint
separately to determine who the predominant aggressor was
in the situation
.
(b)
If the officer determines that one person was the predominant physical aggressor, the
officer need not arrest the other person alleged to have committed
domestic violence
a domestic violence offense
.
(c)
In determining who the predominant aggressor was, the officer shall consider:
(a)
(i)
any prior complaints of
domestic violence
a domestic violence offense
;
(b)
(ii)
the relative severity of injuries inflicted on each person;
(c)
(iii)
the likelihood of future injury to each of the parties; and
(d)
(iv)
whether one of the parties acted in self defense.
(4)
A law enforcement officer may not threaten, suggest, or otherwise indicate the possible
arrest of all parties in order to discourage any party's request for intervention by law
enforcement.
(5)
(a)
A law enforcement officer who does not make an arrest after investigating a
complaint of
domestic violence
a domestic violence offense
, or who arrests two or
more parties, shall submit a detailed, written report specifying the grounds for not
arresting any party or for arresting both parties.
(b)
A law enforcement officer who does not make an arrest shall notify the victim of the
right to initiate a criminal proceeding and of the importance of preserving evidence.
(6)
(a)
A law enforcement officer responding to a complaint of
domestic violence
a
domestic violence offense
shall prepare an incident report that includes:
(i)
the officer's disposition of the case; and
(ii)
the results of any lethality assessment completed in accordance with Section
77-36-2.1
.
(b)
From January 1, 2009, until December 31, 2013, any law enforcement officer
employed by a city of the first or second class responding to a complaint of domestic
violence shall also report, either as a part of an incident report or on a separate form,
the following information:
(i)
marital status of each of the parties involved;
(ii)
social, familial, or legal relationship of the suspect to the victim; and
(iii)
whether or not an arrest was made.
(c)
The information obtained in Subsection
(6)(b)
:
(i)
shall be reported monthly to the department;
(ii)
shall be reported as numerical data that contains no personal identifiers; and
(iii)
is a public record as defined in Section
63G-2-103
.
(d)
(b)
The incident report shall be made available to the victim, upon request, at no
cost.
(e)
(c)
The law enforcement agency shall forward a copy of the incident report to the
appropriate prosecuting attorney within five days after
the day on which
the
complaint of domestic violence occurred.
(d)
If a peace officer did not arrest, or issue a citation to, an individual alleged to have
committed a domestic violence offense as described in Subsection
(2)
, the law
enforcement agency shall assign a peace officer to complete the investigation of the
alleged domestic violence offense within 48 hours after the time at which the call
regarding the domestic violence offense was made.
(e)
If there is evidence that a domestic violence offense was committed, a law
enforcement agency shall submit the appropriate charge for the offense to the
prosecuting agency within five business days after the day on which the domestic
violence offense occurs, unless the law enforcement agency has reasonable cause for
the delay.
(7)
The department shall compile the information described in Subsections
(6)(b)
and
(c)

into a report and present that report to the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Interim Committee during the 2013 interim, no later than May 31, 2013.
(8)
(7)
(a)
Each law enforcement agency shall, as soon as practicable, make a written
record and maintain records of all incidents of domestic violence reported to
it, and
the law enforcement agency.
(b)
Each incident
shall be identified by a law enforcement agency code for domestic
violence.
Section 2. Section
77-36-2.6
is amended to read:
77-36-2.6
. Appearance required -- Considerations by court.
(1)
An alleged perpetrator who is arrested for an offense involving domestic violence shall
appear in person or by video before the court or a magistrate within one judicial day
after the day on which the arrest is made
be presented without unnecessary delay before
a magistrate for the determination of probable cause in accordance with Utah Rules of
Criminal Procedure, Rule 9
.
(2)
An
If an
alleged perpetrator
who
is charged by citation, indictment, or information
with an offense involving domestic violence
but
and
has not been arrested,
the alleged
perpetrator
shall appear before the court in person for arraignment or initial appearance
as soon as practicable
,
but no later than 14 days after the next day on which court is in
session following the issuance of the citation or the filing of the indictment or
information.
(3)
At the time of an appearance under Subsection
(1)
or
(2)
, the court shall consider
imposing a pretrial protective order in accordance with Section
78B-7-803
.
(4)
An appearance required by this section is mandatory and may not be waived.
(4)
Appearances required by this section are mandatory and may not be waived.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-17-26 8:53 AM