Governor appoints Teresa Welch to the Third District Court
SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 30, 2019) – Gov. Gary R. Herbert has appointed Teresa Welch as a judge for the Third District Court.
“Teresa Welch will be a strong addition to the Third District Court,” Gov. Hebert said. “I am confident her extensive background in law will serve her well in this capacity.”
Since 2003, Welch has worked as a public defender with the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association. She also teaches criminal justice and philosophy classes at local universities and colleges. Welch received her J.D. from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. She also holds a master’s in philosophy from the University of Utah, as well as bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and violin performance.
“I am humbled and honored to be selected by Gov. Herbert,” Welch said. “If confirmed, I will work diligently to serve the people of Utah and the Third District Court with fairness, respect, and integrity.”
Welch’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Utah Senate.
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Hello,
Last week (October 20-26) was National Teen Driver Safety Week. In recognition of the week, Safety.com analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine the most dangerous states for young drivers (ages 15-20) from the most recent data available (2017). The week is a reminder of the importance that parents, educators, and teenagers themselves need to place on being safe behind the wheel of a vehicle all year round.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data provides a look at the percentage of state traffic fatalities who were killed in crashes involving young drivers. Young drivers are defined as those between the ages of 15-20. When factoring in the percentage of the state's population that is between the ages of 15-20, we arrive at a ranking of the most dangerous states for young drivers. In Utah, 16.1% of serious vehicle crashes where a fatality occurred involved young drivers. When factoring in that 9.31% of the population of Utah was between the ages of 15-20, this places the state among the most dangerous for young drivers.
The Top 10 Most Dangerous States (by percentage) are:
The full analysis and ranking of all 50 states can be viewed here:
https://www.safety.com/the-most-dangerous-states-for-young-drivers/
The report also includes information on whether or not the state has current laws that restrict cell phone use for young drivers and hands-free bans for all drivers as important initiatives to protect our young drivers and other drivers on the road. For the top 10 states on our list, we also take a look at the age requirements for obtaining a learner's permit and a full privilege driver's license.
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For Immediate Release
October 30, 2019
Contacts
Aundrea Peterson
Director of Communications | Utah Senate
801-791-3365 | aundreapeterson@le.utah.gov
Senator Todd Weiler
Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee Chair
801-599-9823
Utah Senate Requests Public Comment on Two Judicial Nominees
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee is seeking public comment on two district court judges, Kristine Johnson and Teresa Welch, who were appointed by Governor Gary Herbert as judges for the 3rd District Court.
Those who desire to comment should contact Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation committee staff, Jerry Howe at the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, November 14, 2019, at the Utah State Capitol, House Building, Suite W210, PO Box 145210, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-5210. All statements should include the respondent’s name, telephone number and mailing address.
The Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee plans to hold a public hearing, then issue a recommendation to the full Senate. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Johnson and Judge Welch, will fill two positions that were created by the Legislature during the 2019 Legislative Session.
The 3rd Judicial District includes Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties.
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NOTES:
1. Members of the 2019 Judicial Confirmation Committee are Senator Todd Weiler (Chair), Senator Kirk Cullimore, Senator Deidre Henderson, Senator Lyle Hillyard, Senator Don Ipson, Senator Jani Iwamoto and Senator Karen Mayne.
2. Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee information is available here:
https://le.utah.gov/asp/interim/Commit.asp?Year=2019&Com=SPESJC
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Humane Society of Utah asks for maximum penalty in felony animal abuse case
Utah man kills girlfriend’s dog after a domestic argument
The Humane Society of Utah is asking for the maximum penalty in response to charges filed against Yulong Du, a 23-year-old man in Taylorsville, Utah. Du for aggravated cruelty to animals, a third-degree felony, and other misdemeanor charges for assault, criminal mischief and intoxication. According to police, Du threw his girlfriend's dog to the floor, causing the dog to urinate and defecate before shaking in a "seizure-like motion" until death after an argument on Sunday, Oct. 27.
“We were appalled when we heard how this dog was killed,” said Vaughn Maurice, Humane Society of Utah executive director. “The man needs intervention to prevent him from causing further harm to another animal or person since we know there is a high correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence. We believe he should receive the maximum sentence for his actions.”
It is a third-degree felony if the person intentionally or knowingly tortures a companion dog or cat. Penalties range from $1,000 to $5,000 and six months to five years.
The Humane Society of Utah fought for nearly eight years to pass Henry's Law, which makes the torture of companion animal a third-degree felony in Utah. Henry, the dog who inspired the law, was tortured by a man who was jealous of his wife's pet.
Utah bill SB 45, sponsored by Senator Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, passed the Utah House in February 2019. This legislation added aggravated cruelty of an animal to the list of offenses that qualify as a domestic violence offense.
According to the Animal Welfare Institute, “Multiple studies have found that from 49% to 71% of battered women reported that their pets had been threatened, harmed, and or killed by their partners. In a national survey, 85% of domestic violence shelters indicated that women coming to their facilities told of incidents of pet abuse.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Jim Bennett
801-971-5457
UNITED UTAH PARTY CALLS ON UTAH U.S. HOUSE DELEGATION TO VOTE FOR IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY
The United Utah Party has issued the following statement:
The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote later this week on a resolution that would outline the process for going forward with an impeachment inquiry into the actions of President Trump. An impeachment inquiry is a grave step and it should be a rare situation for the nation. Unfortunately, the controversy over this inquiry has divided across party lines. Only a handful of Republicans, including Senator Mitt Romney, have noted that the president’s behavior is deeply troubling and require further investigation.
We agree with Senator Romney, and we hope that the rest of the Utah Congressional Delegation will as well.
The upcoming House vote is not a vote to impeach the president, but rather a recognition that the allegations against President Trump merit a formal investigation. The allegations include attempting to involve a foreign government in U.S. elections, using foreign aid (which is paid for by taxpayers) to persuade a foreign government to investigate a political opponent, and conspiracy to obstruct justice by interfering in a criminal investigation. If these allegations are true, they represent a dangerous misuse of presidential power. We believe our elections should be protected from foreign influence. It is illegal to purposely encourage foreign governments to violate the integrity of our electoral process. We believe no criminal investigation should be interfered with because even the president is not above the law.
Since these are serious allegations and have profound consequences for the presidency and the nation, Congress should investigate them. All members of Congress should want to get to the bottom of these allegations to determine whether they are accurate. A vote to stop this inquiry at the outset would demonstrate a loyalty to party over principle.
This is why the United Utah Party calls upon all members of the Utah Congressional Delegation - Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, John Curtis, and Ben McAdams - to vote to allow this process to continue. Anything less would be a betrayal of the constitutional ideals our elected officials have sworn to protect and defend.
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10/29/2019 Salt Lake City, UT — Better Business Bureau serving Northern Nevada and Utah is alerting consumers to be critical of baby and motherhood gift cards sent to them by a “Jenny B.” These cards are not from a friend, but part of a questionable marketing scheme by Mother’s Lounge, LLC.
Mother’s Lounge is a company out of Pleasant Grove, Utah that sends gift cards for their different online businesses. To date, BBB serving Northern Nevada and Utah has found over fifteen affiliate businesses, including Thoughtful Gift Cards and Canopy Couture. These gift cards are sent all over the U.S. and Canada in an envelope which appears to have lost its return label, when it never had one in the first place. This seems to be a marketing tactic meant to make the envelope look more like mail from a friend.
Inside is a card congratulating the recipient on their recent pregnancy and an array of gift cards and coupons for motherhood and baby items. BBB believes that “Jenny B” is Jeanette Pierce, the owner of Mother’s Lounge and the other online entities.
BBB is unsure what mailing lists the business is using, but not all of the women who receive these mailings are pregnant.
In the past, consumers have complained that adding a gift card to their orders appears to increase the shipping cost. BBB questioned Mother’s Lounge’s owner, Jeanette Pierce, regarding the increase in price. This increase appears to cover the majority of the cost of the gift card. No response was received. BBB believes that the business should modify or discontinue the advertising campaign as consumers are confused and the price for a product or shipping should not be increased when a gift certificate is used.
In BBB’s review of over 55 complaints and Scam Tracker reports for Mother's Lounge, consumers who have purchased from these websites reported receiving lower quality products than expected.
When purchasing or using gift cards, your BBB recommends that you:
Read the fine print. Search the card’s packaging and the card itself for any fees, expiration dates, and terms and conditions. Some organizations charge service fees, or will limit the gift card to “in store only” purchases, making it useless for online shopping.
Start with Trust®. It’s important to buy from sources you know and trust. Visit BBB.org to see a business’ BBB Business Profile and find trustworthy BBB Accredited Businesses. Make sure to look up the business at BBB.org to view its rating, complaint history and reviews from past customers.
Examine the card and packaging for tampering. Make sure the packaging hasn’t been tampered with, and check the back of the card to make sure that the PIN number hasn’t been exposed and no protective stickers have been removed.
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For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. In 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on nearly 5.4 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. Today, BBB serving Northern Nevada and Utah is supported by just over 4,300 Accredited Businesses that have voluntarily committed to adhere to BBB’s Standards of Trust.
