THE COURTS

PART I.  GENERAL

[234 PA. CODE CH. 50]

Order Adopting Amendments to Rules of Criminal Procedure 53 and 86¹; No. 261 Criminal Procedural Rules; Doc. No. 2

[30 Pa.B. 1508]

   The Criminal Procedural Rules Committee has prepared a Final Report explaining the March 3, 2000 amendments to Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 53 (Contents of Citation) and 86 (Appeals), which will be effective July 1, 2000. These amendments clarify that a defendant may appeal for a trial de novo following the entry of a guilty plea in a summary case. The Final Report follows the Court's Order.

Order

Per Curiam:

   Now, this third day of March, 2000, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee; this proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 103(a)(3), and a Final Report to be published with this Order:

   It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 53 and 86 are hereby amended in the attached form.

   This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 103(b), and shall be effective July 1, 2000.

Annex A

TITLE 234.  RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PART I.  GENERAL

CHAPTER 50.  PROCEDURE IN SUMMARY CASES

Rule 53.  Contents of Citation.

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   (B) The copy delivered to the defendant shall also contain a notice to the defendant:

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   (2)  that the defendant shall, with 10 days after issuance of the citation:

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   (c)  appear before the proper issuing authority to request consideration for inclusion in an accelerated rehabilitative disposition program;

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   (6) that, if the defendant is convicted or has pleaded guilty, the defendant may appeal within 30 days for a trial de novo.

   Official Note: Previous rule, originally numbered Rule 133(a) and Rule 133(b), adopted January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970; renumbered as Rule 53(a) and 53(b) September 18, 1973, effective January 1, 1974; amended January 23, 1975, effective September 1, 1975; Comment revised January 28, 1983, effective July 1, 1983; rescinded July 12, 1985, effective January 1, 1986, and not replaced in these rules. Present rule adopted July 12, 1985, effective January 1, 1986. The January 1, 1986 effective dates all are extended to July 1, 1986; amended February 1, 1989, effective as to cases instituted on or after July 1, 1989; amended January 31, 1991, effective July 1, 1991; amended June 3, 1993, effective as to new citations printed on or after July 1, 1994; amended July 25, 1994, effective January 1, 1995; amended March 3, 2000, effective July 1, 2000.

Comment

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   Paragraph (B)(5) provides a uniform procedure for handling cases in which a defendant returns the fines and costs but fails to sign the citation and, therefore, does not indicate a plea. See Rule 57.

   Paragraph (B)(6) was amended in 2000 to make it clear in a summary criminal case that the defendant may file an appeal for a trial de novo following the entry of a guilty plea. See Rule 86 (Appeals).

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Committee Explanatory Reports:

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   Final Report explaining the March 3, 2000 amendments concerning appeals from guilty pleas published with the Court's Order at 30 Pa.B. 1509 (March 18, 2000).

Rule 86.  Appeals.

   (A) When an appeal is authorized by law in a summary proceeding, including [a] an appeal following a prosecution for violation of a municipal ordinance which provides for imprisonment upon conviction or upon failure to pay a fine, an appeal shall be perfected by filing a notice of appeal within 30 days after the entry of the guilty plea, the conviction, or other final order from which the appeal is taken and by appearing in the court of common pleas for the trial de novo. The notice of appeal shall be filed with the clerk of courts.

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   (D)  The notice of appeal shall contain the following information:

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   (2) the name and address of the issuing authority who accepted the guilty plea or heard the case;

   (3)  the magisterial district number where the case was heard;

   (4)  the name and mailing address of the affiant as shown on the complaint or citation;

   (5)  the date of the entry of the guilty plea, the conviction, or other final order from which the appeal is taken;

   (6)  the offense(s) of which convicted or to which a guilty plea was entered, if any;

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   (10)  except when the appeal is from a guilty plea or a conviction, the grounds relied upon for appeal.

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   (G) When a defendant appeals after the entry of a guilty plea or a conviction by an issuing authority in any summary proceeding, upon the filing of the transcript and other papers by the issuing authority, the case shall be heard de novo by the appropriate division of the court of common pleas as the president judge shall direct. In appeals from summary proceedings arising under the Vehicle Code or local traffic ordinances, other than parking offenses, the law enforcement officer who observed the alleged offense must appear and testify. The failure of a law enforcement officer to appear and testify shall result in the dismissal of the charges unless:

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   (H) This rule shall provide the exclusive means of appealing from a summary guilty plea or conviction. Courts of common pleas shall not issue writs of certiorari in such cases.

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   Official Note:  Adopted July 12, 1985, effective January 1, 1986; revised September 23, 1985, effective January 1, 1986; January 1, 1986 effective dates extended to July 1, 1986; amended February 2, 1989, effective March 1, 1989; amended March 22, 1993, effective January 1, 1994; amended October 28, 1994, effective as to cases instituted on or after January 1, 1995; amended February 27, 1995, effective July 1, 1995; amended October 1, 1997, effective October 1, 1998; amended May 14, 1999, effective July 1, 1999; amended March 3, 2000, effective July 1, 2000.

Comment

   This rule applies to appeals in all summary proceedings, including appeals from prosecutions for violations of municipal ordinances which provide for the possibility of imprisonment, and default hearings.

   This rule was amended in 2000 to make it clear in a summary criminal case that the defendant may file an appeal for a trial de novo following the entry of a guilty plea.

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   ''Entry,'' as used in this rule, means the date on which the issuing authority enters or records the guilty plea, the conviction, or other order in the district justice computer system.

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Committee Explanatory Reports:

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   Final Report explaining the March 3, 2000 amendments concerning appeals from guilty pleas published with the Court's Order at 30 Pa.B. 1509 (March 18, 2000).

FINAL REPORT¹

Amendments to Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 53 (Contents of Citation) and 86 (Appeals)²
Appeals of Guilty Pleas in Summary Cases

   On March 3, 2000, effective July 1, 2000, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, the Court amended Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 53 (Contents of Citation) and 86 (Appeals). These amendments clarify that a defendant may appeal for a trial de novo following the entry of a guilty plea in a summary case.

I.  BACKGROUND

   The Committee undertook a review of the issue of appealing guilty pleas in summary cases in view of communications we have received from time to time from members of both the bench and bar asking whether a defendant may appeal for a trial de novo from a guilty plea in a summary case. The source of the confusion appears to be the reference in Rules 53 and 86 to appealing a ''conviction,''³ which in the context of a summary case appeal is being construed by some courts as excluding guilty pleas.

   The Committee discussed the rule history and reviewed the relevant case law. The traditional justification for the minor judiciary to be a court not of record and to expeditiously handle the relatively minor or summary offenses in proceedings in which some of the defendant's constitutional rights may be forborne is that the defendant is given the right to a trial de novo in the court of common pleas. See, e.g., Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104 (1972). It is this principle that permits the rules to provide for a defendant in a summary case to enter a guilty plea by mail without the advice of counsel or the requirement of a formal guilty plea colloquy. The Committee also noted that Rule 86 provides the exclusive means of appealing from a summary conviction. See Rule 86(H). In addition, Rule 86(H) has been interpreted broadly to include a defendant's appeal from the entry of a guilty plea in a summary case. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Toner, 663 A.2d 202 (Pa. Super. 1995), citing Commonwealth v. Bassion, 568 A.2d 1316 (Pa. Super. 1990), in which the court stated that ''[t]he appropriate method of challenging the propriety of a summary conviction, whether after hearing or by plea, is by a timely appeal to the court of common pleas pursuant to Pa.R.Cr.P. 86.''

II.  DISCUSSION OF RULE CHANGES

   Rule 53(B)(6) has been amended by adding ''or has pleaded guilty'' after ''is convicted.'' A new paragraph has been added to the Comment reiterating the principle that a defendant may file an appeal for a trial de novo following the entry of a guilty plea.

   Paragraphs (A), (D)(2), (5), (6), and (10), (G), and (H) of Rule 86 have been amended to include references to the entry or acceptance of a guilty plea. Correlative revisions have been added as the second paragraph of the Rule 86 Comment. In addition, the Rule 86 Comment includes the definition of ''entry'' as it applies in the context of the district justice computer system

¹ Rule 53 will be renumbered Rule 403 and the provisions of Rule 86 will be separated into new Rules 460, 461, and 462 as part of the renumbering and reorganization of the Rules of Criminal Procedure that the Court adopted on March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001.

¹ The Committee's Final Reports should not be confused with the official Committee Comments to the rules. Also note that the Supreme Court does not adopt the Committee's Comments or the contents of the Committee's explanatory Final Reports.

² Rule 53 will be renumbered Rule 403 and the provisions of Rule 86 will be separated into new Rules 460, 461, and 462 as part of the renumbering and reorganization of the Rules of Criminal Procedure that the Court adopted on March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001.

³ As defined in Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, ''conviction'' includes the final judgment on a plea of guilty.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 00-470. Filed for public inspection March 17, 2000, 9:00 a.m.]

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