From assault and drug charges to weapons offenses and felonies — we provide strategic, partner-led defense in every Utah court. Brady and Kelly handle every case personally, from arraignment through trial.
From the moment of arrest through trial, we stand between you and the full weight of the state. Brady Stuart and Kelly Cardon handle every type of criminal matter in Utah courts — personally.
Assault charges — including assault on a peace officer (§ 76-5-102.4) — often hinge on the intent element and the officer's own conduct. We examine every bodycam frame and report for what prosecutors hope you miss.
Most Utah drug cases live or die on the Fourth Amendment. We analyze every stop, search, and seizure for constitutional defects — and file suppression motions when the state overstepped.
Utah weapons charges require careful constitutional analysis. We challenge both the underlying conduct and the legality of any search or seizure that produced the evidence.
Theft and property crime charges depend heavily on identification procedures and chain of custody. We dig into evidence handling and eyewitness reliability for what prosecutors gloss over.
Third-degree to first-degree felonies follow you for life. We build trial-ready strategies from day one — not premature pleas that leave a felony on your permanent record.
Class A and B misdemeanors carry real consequences — jail, fines, and a permanent record affecting employment and housing. We fight misdemeanors as hard as felonies.
Every case follows the same disciplined methodology. The results vary, but the diligence doesn't.
Dashcam footage, bodycam footage, and witness statements disappear fast. We send preservation letters and file discovery requests within days of retention.
Before anything else, we ask: was this stop, search, or arrest lawful? Suppression motions that win before trial are the most powerful tool in criminal defense.
Most Utah criminal charges require proof of a culpable mental state. We examine whether the prosecution can actually prove what they allege about your state of mind.
Strong defense arguments create leverage. Prosecutors offer better resolutions to defendants who have strong counsel — and we build that strength from the first day.
Every Utah charge sits on a ladder, and the rung determines everything — the courtroom, the maximum penalty, and the path to clearing your record later. Infractions carry fines only. Class C misdemeanors (up to 90 days jail), class B misdemeanors (up to 6 months) — including most first DUI, retail theft, and simple assault charges — and class A misdemeanors (up to 364 days) make up the bulk of criminal cases. Felonies run from third degree (up to 5 years prison) through second degree (1–15 years) to first degree (5 years to life).
Two things follow from the ladder. First, misdemeanors are heard in justice courts — like the Ogden City Justice Court — where a loss can be retried fresh in district court, while felonies start in district court with a preliminary hearing the state must survive. Second, the rung is negotiable: a huge part of criminal defense is moving a charge down the ladder at filing, at plea, or even years later through a § 76-3-402 reduction. The difference between a class A misdemeanor and a third-degree felony on your record is the difference between explaining a mistake and losing careers, housing, and firearm rights.
Utah uses a risk-based pretrial system — whether you're released, and on what conditions, is argued at the very start. Bail and pretrial release decisions shape the whole case: it is far harder to fight charges from a cell. Say nothing to investigators; know your Miranda rights and your rights in any police encounter, and call counsel before you give a statement.
The prosecutor — not the police — decides what to file, which means early defense contact can shape charges before they exist. Misdemeanors proceed to arraignment in justice court; felonies go to district court, where the state must show probable cause at a preliminary hearing before the case can even proceed.
We force the state to show its hand — every report, recording, and witness statement — then litigate what was done wrong: unlawful searches, coerced statements, unreliable identifications. Suppression motions win cases without trials, and the leverage they create drives dismissals and reductions.
Most cases resolve short of trial — but only defendants whose lawyers will actually try a case get the state's best offers. If the outcome is wrong, appeals and post-conviction remedies exist; if you're placed on probation, we defend probation violations that threaten to undo everything.
A closed case isn't a clean record. Utah's Clean Slate law and the expungement process — walked through in our step-by-step guide — plus 402 reductions can remove or downgrade what employers and landlords see. Building toward that eligibility is part of how we resolve cases from the start.
In-depth guides to the charges we defend across Utah — what the statute says, what you’re facing, and the defenses that actually work.
Drug Crimes OverviewDrug PossessionDistribution & Intent to DistributeMarijuana ChargesDUI Defense
Assault ChargesAggravated AssaultHomicide & Murder DefenseWeapons & Gun ChargesResisting Arrest & ObstructionAssault on a Peace Officer
Sex Crimes DefenseDomestic ViolenceProtective OrdersStalking & HarassmentJuvenile Defense
Bail & Pretrial ReleaseProbation ViolationsCriminal AppealsExpungement & Clean SlateCriminal Defense FAQUtah Court SystemPreliminary HearingsBench Warrants & Missed CourtGun Rights After a Conviction
Defensa CriminalAbogado de DUIDelitos de DrogasViolencia DomésticaLimpiar Antecedentes
Criminal charges follow the court, not the client. A case filed in Weber County stays in Weber County even if you live in Salt Lake, and a charge picked up while passing through Box Elder is answered in Brigham City. These pages cover the courts we appear in, what to expect from each, and who prosecutes there.
Our home ground. The office is on Washington Blvd, minutes from the courthouse.
Roughly forty minutes down I-15, and a courthouse we are in most weeks.
4th and 5th District. We travel for these, and we say so up front.
Charged in a court not on this list? We appear statewide. Call (801) 627-1110 and ask — if another firm is a better fit for that court, we will say so.
No obligation. No judgment. Just answers from experienced Utah defense attorneys.