If you’re 21 or older in Utah, there’s nothing illegal about hanging out at your friend’s house on a Friday night to enjoy each other’s company with a few drinks. However, if you get behind the wheel of a vehicle after finishing those drinks, you’ve crossed the line into illegal territory. Even if it’s your first offense, you’ll face some difficult consequences.

If you’re accused of committing a felony, there are a couple routes you can take. You can try to prove your innocence, but that can be risky. If you lose your case, you can spend years in prison. Because of this, you might want to consider seeking probation instead. As always, don’t make any decisions before consulting a criminal defense attorney.

Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs (DUI) in Utah can lead to harsh criminal penalties for those found guilty. Several factors can determine how serious your charges for DUI might be. That’s why you need an experienced legal team who will fight for your rights—no matter the charges.

In almost every state across the US, the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) you can legally operate a motor vehicle with is the same–0.08. However, that is well above the legal limit in Utah. In the Beehive State, it is not legal to drive a vehicle if you have a BAC of 0.05 or greater.

You’ve likely heard the terms assault and battery before. They are generally associated with crime stories in which a person causes a non-fatal injury to another. Both terms have negative connotations and they almost seem interchangeable. In many states, there is a difference, but Utah approaches the law differently.

Thousands of campfires are ablaze every night in Utah thanks to the season of s’mores, scary stories, and late-night chats under the stars. Camping trips and backyard parties around the fire pit are a blast, but can also be where some of the most devastating fires start.

In Utah, you can be convicted of one of three different types of crimes: infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies. Each one of them comes with its own level of punishment. The most severe are felonies. 

One of the biggest misconceptions about people who have been convicted of a crime is that change is completely impossible. In reality, people do get out of prison and decide that they will not go back to that life again. They seek counseling. They quit harmful substances. They volunteer. They tell their story as a cautionary tale, so young people don’t end up with the same fate. They remedy their relationships with family and friends.‍

The most common crime in the state of Utah is also the most common crime in the United States — larceny, which is simply another word for “theft.” According to Pew Research Center, the U.S. experienced 1,401.9 cases per 100,000 people in 2022. That is a lot of cases. If we were to assume that every single one of them were committed by a different person, that would be about 1.4% of the population.