Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
Criminal Defense in Utah
Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
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Traffic Laws

Utah Legalizes Medical Marijuana! Kinda! Sort Of!

November 8, 2018 | Filed under: Drug Laws, DUI Laws, Interesting Legal News, Marijuana Laws

[UPDATE: the Utah Legislature passed, and the governor signed, a “compromise bill” that overwrites most of Proposition 2. More information and a new post will be forthcoming.] Utah just passed Proposition 2, the Utah Medical Cannabis Act. But, being Utah, I can promise you it is going to be a …

Your California Medical Marijuana Card in Utah

April 22, 2016 | Filed under: Drug Laws, DUI Laws, Marijuana Laws

Probably once a week, I get asked if a California Medical Marijuana Card makes any difference in Utah. Up until last year, I had to say no.  Fortunately, Utah’s new Medical Cannabis Act does contain some reciprocity for med cards from out of state, but there are some important caveats …

Drug Dogs and Police Searches in Utah

May 2, 2014 | Filed under: Constitutional Law, Drug Laws, Marijuana Laws, Search and Seizure, Traffic Laws

Can Police Have a Dog Sniff My Car Without My Permission? Can Police Search My Car without Permission Based on the “Alert” of a K-9 Unit? What if the Cops Said the Dog Alerted on My Car, but Then They Didn’t Find Any Drugs? What if the Cops Searched My …

Richfield Marijuana Arrests : The most exciting part of driving I-70

December 16, 2013 | Filed under: Drug Laws, DUI Laws, Marijuana Laws, Traffic Laws

The drive along Interstate 70, in central Utah, is remarkable for its unremarkableness.  Just to the north, there are strikingly beautiful salt flats and the abrupt, snow-capped peaks of the Wasatch front.  Just to the south are the red-rock deserts and world-famous national parks: Zion, Arches, Canyonlands.  But I-70 threads …

Tooele Highway Drug Stops

October 18, 2013 | Filed under: Constitutional Law, Drug Laws, Marijuana Laws, Search and Seizure, Traffic Laws

View Larger Map Tooele County, Utah is a large, rural county 30 minutes west of Salt Lake City, with a couple small towns (Grantsville, Tooele), some mountains, salt flats, and one large, busy, east-west Highway (I-80). Like many places around the state and country, the local law enforcement folks in …

All Minors Are “Alcohol Restricted Drivers” in Utah

September 20, 2013 | Filed under: Driver's License Laws, Traffic Laws

The legal definition of an “Alcohol Restricted Driver” in Utah is a long, complex quagmire of a law, with multiple categories and sub-categories of people who have been convicted of various alcohol-related traffic crimes or administrative offenses within a certain number of years (you can read it, if you dare, …

The Legality of Automobile Searches

May 6, 2013 | Filed under: Constitutional Law, Search and Seizure, Traffic Laws

National Photo Company Collection. 1922. I’ve had several friends ask me about the ability of police to search their automobile when they get pulled over, no doubt worried about the cases of moonshine they keep stashed in the trunk or just curious about the extent of their constitutional rights.  Confusion …

DUI without the D

May 6, 2013 | Filed under: DUI Laws, Traffic Laws

Ok, you might think that if there’s one thing abundantly clear about the charge of Driving Under the Influence, it’s that, to be guilty, you must be 1) Driving, 2) Under, 3) the Influence. But you would be mistaken. In Utah, you either have to be driving OR you have …

The Difference Between Driving Under the Influence and Impaired Driving in Utah

May 5, 2013 | Filed under: Driver's License Laws, DUI Laws, Traffic Laws

According to Google, “what is the difference between DUI and DWI?” is one of the most popular what-is-the-difference-between questions, just slightly less common than “between greek yogurt and regular” and slightly ahead of“between a wasp and a hornet.”  In any case, it’s one of the biggies.  Not bad for a rather subtle …

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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