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Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019) |
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R671. Pardons (Board of), Administration |
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R671-302. News Media and Public Access to Hearings |
| R671-302-1. Open Hearings |
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According to state law and subject to fairness and security requirements, Board hearings shall be open to the public, including representatives of the news media. However, the Board shall only accept testimony or comments from the offender and specific individuals as provided in R671-203 and R671-308. |
| R671-302-2. Limited Seating |
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When the number of people wishing to attend a hearing exceeds the seating capacity of the room in which the hearing will be conducted, priority for admission and seating shall be given to: 1. Individuals involved in the hearing 2. Victim(s) of record. 3. Up to five people selected by the victim(s) of record. 4. Up to five people selected by the offender. 5. Officials designated or approved by the Board. 6. Up to five members of the news media as allocated by the Board or its designee. 7. Members of the public and media on a first come basis. |
| R671-302-3. Security and Conduct |
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All attendees are subject to prison security requirements and must conduct themselves in a manner which does not interfere with the orderly conduct of the hearing. Any individual causing a disturbance or engaging in behavior deemed by the Board to be disruptive of the proceeding may be ordered to leave and security personnel may be requested to escort the individual from the premises. All persons granted admission to a hearing must have a picture identification and subject themselves to the security regulations of the custodial facility. |
| R671-302-4. Executive Session |
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Board executive sessions are closed sessions with no access. No filming, recording or transmitting of executive session portions of any hearing will be allowed. |
| R671-302-5. News Media Equipment |
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(a) Subject to prior approval by the Board or its designee, news agency representatives will be permitted to operate photographic, recording or transmitting equipment during the public portions of any hearing. When more than one news agency requests permission to use photographic, recording or transmitting equipment, a pooling arrangement may be required. (b) When it is determined by the Board or its designee, that any such equipment or operators of that equipment are causing a disturbance, are interfering with, or have the potential to cause a disturbance or interfere with an orderly, fair and impartial hearing, restrictions may be imposed to eliminate those problems. (c) Any instant uploading of images recorded at the site of a hearing, or while a hearing is in progress, must be approved by the Board or its designee in advance of the hearing. Photographing, recording and/or transmitting the image of a victim testifying before the Board is prohibited unless approved by the victim and the individual presiding over the hearing. |
| R671-302-6. Prior Approval |
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News media representatives wishing to use photographic, recording or transmitting equipment or to be considered for one of the five reserved media seats shall submit a request in writing to the Board or its designee. Such requests must be submitted in compliance with the policy and procedures of the Department of Corrections. If requesting the use of equipment, the request must specify by type, all the pieces of equipment to be used. |
| R671-302-7. Approving Equipment |
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(a) Requests to use photographic, recording or transmitting equipment, must be made at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to a regularly scheduled hearing and ninety-six (96) hours prior to a Commutation Hearing. (b) It is the responsibility of the news agency, or their representative, making the request to contact and confer with the Board's designee in order to work out logistical, access and all other details of such use. (c) If the Board's designee is unfamiliar with the equipment proposed to be used, he or she may require that a demonstration be performed to determine if it is likely to be intrude, disturb or inhibit the orderly, fair and impartial hearing in any way. Any equipment causing a disturbance or distraction will be removed from the premises. (d) Digital cameras and recording equipment are approved equipment. (e) If equipment is approved for use at a hearing, its location and mode of operation shall be approved in advance by the Board's designee. Any approved equipment will remain in a stationary position during the entire hearing and will be operated as unobtrusively as possible. (f) No artificial lighting may be used during a hearing, or in the hearing room, in conjunction with the use of any photographic, recording or transmitting equipment. (g) If there are multiple requests for the same type of equipment, news agencies will be required to make pool arrangements, as no more than one piece of the same type of equipment will be allowed. If no agreement can be reached regarding pooling arrangements, the Board, or its designee, will make the determination and assignment. Any news agency or representative so designated and assigned as the pool representative shall promptly provide all photographs, recordings or footage to all other media agencies and personnel who are deemed a part of the pool. |
| R671-302-8. Reserved Media Seating |
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(a) If five or fewer requests for media seating are received prior to the deadline, all requests will be approved. If more than five requests for media seating are received, the Board's designee will allocate the seating based on a pool arrangement. Each media category will select its own representative(s). If no agreement can be reached regarding pool representative(s), the Board's designee will make the determination and assignment. Any person wishing to be a pool representative must agree in advance to fully cooperate with all pool arrangements. (b) One seat will be allocated to each of the following media categories: 1. Local daily newspapers with statewide circulation; 2. Major wire services with local bureaus; 3. Local television stations with regularly scheduled daily newscasts; 4. Local radio stations with regularly scheduled daily newscasts; 5. Web-based media. 6. If the requests submitted do not fill all of the above categories, a seat will be allocated to a representative of a major wire service with no local bureau or a national publication (in that order). 7. If seats remain unfilled, one additional seat will be allocated to the categories in the above order until all seats are filled. No news agency will have more than one individual assigned to reserved media seating unless all other requests have been satisfied. |
| R671-302-9. Violations |
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Any news agency found to be in violation of this policy may have its representatives restricted in or banned from covering future Board hearings. |