Utah Rules of Evidence 1983

Before 1971, Utah did not have a comprehensive evidence code and evidence issues generally were determined by reference to the common law. In 1971, Utah became one of only a handful of states to adopt rules based on the 1953 Uniform Rules of Evidence. In 1975, the federal government adopted a set of evidence rules for federal courts. Those rules proved so influential that within ten years, more than half of the states had adopted evidence rules closely patterned after the Federal Rules.