State v. Thalab

Summary

The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Umar Thalab’s petition to expunge his attempted-stalking conviction. The court held that the version of Utah’s stalking statute in effect at sentencing mandated issuance of a permanent criminal stalking injunction, and that the omission could be corrected under Utah Rule of Criminal Procedure 22(e). The court declined to overrule State v. Kropf and rejected Thalab’s arguments that subsequent statutory amendments had abrogated that precedent.

Holdings

1. Utah Code section 76-5-106.5, as in effect at the time of Thalab's sentencing, required the court to issue a permanent criminal stalking injunction at the time of conviction, including upon conviction for attempted stalking.
2. State v. Kropf remains good law; Thalab did not establish that Kropf was wrongly decided or that subsequent amendments to the stalking statute directly conflicted with its interpretation.
3. Because the sentencing court omitted a condition required by statute, the sentence was illegal and the district court properly corrected it under Utah Rule of Criminal Procedure 22(e).
4. Thalab was statutorily ineligible for expungement because a criminal stalking injunction was in effect against him.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Utah Code section 76-5-106.5, as in effect when Thalab was sentenced in 2017, required the sentencing court to issue a permanent criminal stalking injunction upon conviction for attempted stalking.
2. Whether State v. Kropf had been judicially overruled or legislatively abrogated by subsequent statutory amendments.
3. Whether the district court properly corrected Thalab's sentence under Utah Rule of Criminal Procedure 22(e).
4. Whether the permanent criminal stalking injunction made Thalab ineligible for expungement under Utah Code section 77-40a-303(2)(f).

Disposition

affirmed