Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
Criminal Defense in Utah
Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
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Expungement Law

Utah Legislature Temporarily Suspends Expungement Filing Fees!

March 22, 2022 | Filed under: Expungement Law, Interesting Legal News

A big chunk of the cost for having your case expunged in Utah is the fee that the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification charges to give you a certificate of eligibility and the fee that the Court charges to file your petition. These amount to over $200 for each case. …

Parolees Become Eligible for 402 Reductions in Utah

June 8, 2021 | Filed under: 402 Reductions, Expungement Law

There’s been a theme lately of the Utah legislature making improvements to the laws on expungements and record reductions. (See Utah’s Clean Slate Law, and Utah Makes Drug Offenses Easier to Expunge). Good on them, I say. Another small change to the language of the “402 Reduction” statute this spring …

Utah’s “Clean Slate” Law, and Automatic Expungements

June 8, 2021 | Filed under: Expungement Law

In 2019, Utah became the second state in the country to pass an “automatic” expungement law. It went into effect in 2020, but as of the date of this post (in Summer of 2021) no cases have been automatically expunged yet. Recently, I volunteered as an “expert expungement attorney” for …

Utah Eases Expungement Eligibility, Especially for Prior Drug Convictions!

October 4, 2017 | Filed under: Drug Laws, Expungement Law

Over the last couple years, Utah has made some major changes in it’s expungement eligibility guidelines–almost all of them for the good. The most important change has made it easier for people with several drug possession offenses to get them expunged, but the changes also make it easier for people …

Google Puts the Hammer Down on Mug-shot Web Sites

October 17, 2013 | Filed under: Expungement Law, Interesting Legal News

So there’s finally some good news out there for those people trying to deal with a long-ago mug-shot plaguing their current, law-abiding life–people who expunged their criminal records, or were arrested for a crime but never convicted of it, or who just grew up and moved on and tried to …

Dismissed Charges ARE Part of Your Utah Criminal Record

September 18, 2013 | Filed under: Expungement Law

I’ve been contacted by several people lately who were confused about the difference between “dismissed” charges and “expunged” charges.  What they don’t understand is that the record of your criminal case–whether you were convicted, found not-guilty, or the case was dismissed–is always part of the public record unless it is …

DOING YOUR OWN UTAH EXPUNGEMENT

August 23, 2013 | Filed under: Expungement Law

It’s certainly possible to do your own expungement in Utah.  It just takes some patience, filling out several forms, and jumping through a bunch of legal hoops.  You’ll also have to write why expunging your record is not contrary to the public interest (see my blog post on the subject …

Contrary to the Public Interest

June 20, 2013 | Filed under: Expungement Law

“Contrary to the Public Interest” sounds like a good name for a punk band. It’s also a key phrase of legal jargon in Utah’s Expungement Petition forms, and it stops many hopeful expungers in their tracks. You’re just cruising along, checking boxes, answering some simple questions, and then, bam: The …

What’s the deal with all these Mug Shot websites? (Your questions sort-of answered)

May 19, 2013 | Filed under: Expungement Law, Interesting Legal News

Mug shot web sites have been flourishing here in Utah and everywhere else.  Apparently, there is lots of pent-up demand for the valuable public-service they provide.  I know I personally wake up every morning wondering who might have been booked into jail in my fair city lately.  In fact I …

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Recognition for Dain Smoland's NORML Membership

Some Posts from My Blog

  • Utah Legislature Temporarily Suspends Expungement Filing Fees!
  • Parolees Become Eligible for 402 Reductions in Utah
  • Utah’s “Clean Slate” Law, and Automatic Expungements
  • Utah Legalizes Medical Marijuana! Kinda! Sort Of!
  • Utah Eases Expungement Eligibility, Especially for Prior Drug Convictions!

Courts Where I Take Cases

I am licensed to practice criminal law anywhere in Utah, but my office is in Salt Lake City so I focus my defense practice on Salt Lake County and the surrounding counties: Weber, Davis, Utah, Summit, Wasatch, Tooele.

That includes any of the state, city, or federal courts located in Salt Lake City, West Jordan, South Jordan, West Valley, Heber, Park City, Provo, Ogden, Farmington, Bountiful, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Murray, Millcreek, South Salt Lake, Grantsville, Tooele, Orem, American Fork, Sandy, Draper, Centerville, Layton, Kaysville, and anywhere else within an hour's drive of Salt Lake. I'll also go down to Carbon County (Price and Helper), because I like that drive!

For locations in Utah outside that area, just contact me and we'll talk about it.

Categories of my blog posts

  • 402 Reductions
  • Constitutional Law
    • Fifth Amendment
    • Search and Seizure
  • Drug Laws
    • Marijuana Laws
  • Expungement Law
  • Interesting Legal News
  • Theft Laws
    • Shoplifting
  • Traffic Laws
    • Driver's License Laws
    • DUI Laws
  • Uncategorized

© 2023 Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC, a Salt Lake City Criminal Defense Attorney