AG Reyes’ Statement on the Passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

September 18, 2020

SALT LAKE CITY – Attorney General Sean D. Reyes issued the following statement tonight on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

“Today, America lost a legal giant and proud champion of women’s rights. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s service on the Supreme Court was an inspiration to millions of Americans. Regardless of party or politics, no one can deny her historic impact on the High Court. We pray her lifelong example of service may unite us as a nation in mourning her passing. Our sympathies go out to her family, fellow Justices, staff and friends.”

Attorney General Reyes Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Robocalls Ruling

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 6, 2020

ATTORNEY GENERAL REYES STATEMENT ON U.S. SUPREME COURT
ROBOCALLS RULING

SALT LAKE CITY — Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld the federal robocall ban with its decision in Barr v. AAPC. Earlier this year, Attorney General Sean D. Reyes signed onto an amicus brief in support of the ban as part of a 33-state coalition of attorneys general.

Attorney General Reyes’ statement is below:

“I’m glad the U.S. Supreme Court has reaffirmed the government’s authority to ban these robocalls, but this is just one piece of the bigger picture,” said Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes. “Our real concern will be to empower my state and federal partners to even more aggressively protect Utahns and Americans from crimes like financial fraud and identity theft.”

“There are robocalls that are acceptable for things like school reminders and acceptable business contacts,” Reyes continued. “We need to continue to fight the millions of unchecked robocalls annually that unscrupulous businesses and predators use to exploit unsuspecting consumers across America. Many of these calls originate overseas.”

Attorney General Reyes has worked diligently to ensure telephone carriers can aggressively block illegal robocalls before they reach consumers through ongoing collaborations with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), the Telecom industry and a coalition of state attorneys general. Reyes urged the passage of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, which enables the industry to develop call authentication protocols to combat caller- ID spoofing and implement other sweeping anti-robocall measures and demanded the FCC take expedient action in the Truth in Caller ID Act rulemaking process against illegal spoofing. Reyes was also instrumental in developing the Anti-Robocall Principles for telecoms to reduce the number of unwanted and illegal robocalls reaching the American people, which were adopted by 51 attorneys general and 12 major telecom providers in August 2019.

Reyes added: “I have worked for years on this issue to ensure a balance of enforcement against bad actors on one hand and not getting in the way of legitimate business or public service contacts on the other. Tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars are lost yearly to these types of scams and identity frauds. I am very pleased that the High Court today reaffirmed the government’s authority to ban illegal robocalls.”

“I am proud to work with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general to protect our citizens from illegal robocalls. I will continue to do everything in my power to fight this threat in Utah and America,” said Attorney General Reyes.

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U.S. Supreme Court Denies GOP Appeal Over Election Law SB54

March 4, 2019

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Utah Republican Party’s request to review a law that allows a dual path to the ballot for political candidates. Candidates seeking election can either collect signatures, go through the caucus-convention system, or both.

A Short History of SB 54

SB54 Elections Amendments was passed in the 2014 Legislative Session. Over the next several years, a series of lawsuits were filed by the Utah Republican Party (URP) and others.

In December 2014, the URP filed the first lawsuit against Governor Herbert and Lieutenant Governor Cox. In the lawsuit, the URP sought a preliminary injunction to stay the implementation of SB54. The court denied that request.
In November 2015, the court closed the first case, rejecting nearly all of the claims in the first lawsuit and leaving SB54 largely intact.
In January 2016, the URP filed a second lawsuit against Lieutenant Governor Cox, and the court held a hearing to discuss the claims that SB54 was unconstitutional.
In February 2016, the Utah States District Court for the District of Utah certified two questions of state law to the Utah Supreme Court, which responded that a political party must allow its members to seek the party’s nomination through either or both methods of collecting signatures.
In April 2016, the Utah States District Court for the District of Utah upheld the law as constitutional. In response, the URP appealed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment.
In March 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment upholding the dual-track nomination system.
In October 2018, the Party petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit’s decision upholding SB54. This morning, that petition was denied.

Links:

SB 54 Frequently Asked Questions

Utah Solicitor General Tyler Green’s Brief to U.S. Supreme Court on SB54

3/4/19 U.S. Supreme Court Order

GOP Chairman Rob Anderson’s Statement

Keep My Voice Executive Director Phill Wright’s Statement

Salt Lake Tribune – Long legal battles over Utah election law end as U.S. Supreme Court refuses to accept GOP appeal

Deseret News – U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear GOP appeal of candidate nomination law

Fox 13 – U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear Utah GOP’s lawsuit over political candidates who gather signatures

Utah Policy – Supreme Court rejects appeal over SB54, meaning Utah’s law allowing candidates to gather signatures stands…for now

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