Court of Appeals weighs whether post‑sentencing protective order can bar a father’s contact with his children

The Utah Court of Appeals heard oral argument in the appeal of a post‑sentencing continuous protective order that bars a father from communicating with his minor children.

A three‑judge panel — Judge Greg Leorn, Judge Ryan Harris and Judge Mortonson — questioned attorneys for both sides during a hearing in the courtroom that was live‑streamed to the public. Appellant counsel Brian Craig argued the district court exceeded the statute’s plain language and improperly relied on a scrivener’s‑error correction to include "other household members" in a protective order that otherwise refers only to the perpetrator and the victim. "The statute does not include other household members of the victim," Craig said, and he urged the court to be wary of using the scrivener’s‑error doctrine to rewrite legislative text.

The dispute turns largely on statutory interpretation and procedure. Craig told the panel the contested…