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State and local law enforcement agencies seize billions of dollars in cash and personal property each year from individuals suspected but not charged or convicted of any crime.
The Trump administration moved Wednesday to strengthen that practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, reviving and expanding the federal reach — and renewing criticisms over its use.
Among the outspoken opponents? Utah Sen. Mike Lee.
The Republican lawmaker, who has advocated reform of the policy since taking office in ...

Phoenix • A polygamous community on the Arizona-Utah border is appealing an overhaul of its government operations that was ordered in response to a verdict that found nonbelievers were denied police protection, building permits and water hookups on the basis of religion.

For years, former Utah Gov.

A Utah man accused of shooting and killing a police dog earlier this month was charged Thursday with a number of felonies related to the shooting.
Torey Chase Massey, 28, was charged in 3rd District Court with two first-degree felony counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, along with a third-degree felony count of injuring a police service animal. He was also charged with failure to stop at the command of police, possessing another person’s identification documents and...

The family of Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott is asking a court to approve his resignation from office, effective Aug. 1.
In a court filing Thursday, attorneys for Ott, his family and the county asked 3rd District Judge Bruce Lubeck to approve paying Ott’s family $35,000 into a trust account as part of his separation agreement.
Ott is currently in an undisclosed medical facility. His family last week won temporary guardianship, allowing it to make all of Ott’s decisions for him.

Unless current trends and practices change, officials say the Point of the Mountain will be a mess by 2050 — with traffic often at a standstill amid a crowded mishmash of developments that missed opportunities to attract world-class businesses and jobs.
“We will not be fully competitive as a state in high tech if we create a place that may just be business as usual,” Robert Grow, president and CEO of Envision Utah, warned the Point of the Mountain Development Commission on Thursday.
“We need to ...

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A man was in critical condition Thursday after a male relative allegedly shot him at an Orem home.
The 53-year-old victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition after the shooting, said Orem police Lt. Craig Martinez, and police took a 60-year-old suspect into custody.
The shooting took place in the suspect’s home, near 500 East and 1800 South, Martinez said, and another relative at the home reported the shooting to 911 at 1:32 p.m.
Police were interviewing witnesses Thursday afternoon ...

An FBI spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that the agency is “reviewing” an unspecified case that involves the Ephraim Police Department, where three patrol officers accused Police Chief Ron Rasmussen of misconduct and a subsequent sheriff’s department investigation revealed discrepancies in record keeping and policy protocols.
Details about the FBI’s review ­— including whether it gives any consideration to a recent investigation of the department by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, or when the b...

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The LDS Church secured a small legal victory in Russia recently, when that nation’s Constitutional Court ruled that two Mormon volunteers — formerly known as missionaries — were wrongly deported.
In 2016, Nathaniel Joseph Worden and Parker Drake Oldham, both U.S.

Leaders of the bipartisan Better Boundaries initiative filed paperwork Thursday to start a petition drive to give voters the chance to form an independent commission to redraw congressional and legislative district boundaries after the 2020 Census.
That comes in the wake of allegations that gerrymandering by the Legislature the last time gave Utah Republicans unfair advantages.
“When you have politicians picking their voters, they are going to pick the voters that best support them personally,” ...