Ramirez v. Hon. Landau
Ramirez v. Hon. Landau, 2026 UT App 17 (Harris, J.)
Constitutional/Criminal Law
The Utah Court of Appeals held:
- The doctrine of mootness is a constitutional principle. Appellate courts do not have discretion to decide which cases should be spun out and which cut off based on some vague sense of fairness or importance of issue.
- An issue cannot be said to be likely to evade review when there are methods in place to stay proceedings that might render the issue moot on appeal.
- Practice tip: If a criminal defendant wishes to prevent a district court plea from mooting a previous justice court plea, he should seek to stay the district court case while the justice court issues get sorted out.