THE COURTS
Title 246--MINOR
COURT CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
[246 PA. CODE CH. 100]
Order Amending Rule 112 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges; No. 236 Magisterial Doc. No. 1
[37 Pa.B. 2092]
[Saturday, May 5, 2007]
Order Per Curiam:
And Now, this 18th day of April, 2007, upon the recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee; the proposal having been published before adoption at Volume 35, Pennsylvania Bulletin, page 4306 (August 6, 2005), 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 Rule 112 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges be, and hereby is, amended in the following form.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective May 18, 2007.
Mr. Justice Fitzgerald did not participate in the consideration or decision of this matter.
Annex A
TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
CHAPTER 100. RULES AND STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO OFFICES OF MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES Rule 112. Availability and Temporary Assignments of Magisterial District Judges.
[A. The president judge of the court of common pleas of a judicial district, or in his or her absence the available judge of that court longest in continuous service, may assign temporarily the magisterial district judge of any magisterial district to any other magisterial district or the Pittsburgh Magistrates Court or the Traffic Court of Philadelphia whenever such an assignment is required for the efficient administration of justice.] (A) The president judge of each judicial district shall be responsible for ensuring the availability during regular business hours within the judicial district of at least one magisterial district judge to handle matters requiring attention in civil and possessory actions.
(B)(1) The president judge or his or her designee may assign temporarily the magisterial district judge of any magisterial district to serve another magisterial district whenever such assignment is needed:
(a) To satisfy the requirements of paragraph (A).
(b) When a magisterial district judge has disqualified himself or herself either at the request of a party or sua sponte.
(c) To otherwise provide for the efficient administration of justice.
(2) Whenever a temporary assignment is made under this rule, notice of such assignment shall be conspicuously posted in all magisterial district courts affected by the temporary assignment.
[B.] (3) A magisterial district judge temporarily assigned under [subdivision A of] this rule shall have the jurisdiction and authority of the office the duties of which he or she is temporarily performing and may continue to exercise jurisdiction and authority [to] in his or her own magisterial district.
Official Note: This rule was amended in 2007 to further provide for availability and temporary assignment of magisterial district judges in civil and possessory actions similar to that provided for in criminal matters. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 117. Nothing in this rule is intended to affect or conflict with the temporary assignment or coverage requirements for criminal matters as specified in the Rules of Criminal Procedure. Unlike the criminal coverage rules, paragraph (A) of this rule is intended to provide for availability only during regular business hours. None of the matters contemplated under paragraph (A) would require after-hours coverage.
This rule is not intended to affect the availability requirements for emergency relief under the Protection From Abuse Act. See Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. Nos. 1201--1211. In addition, the court of common pleas of each judicial district is responsible to ensure that a judge or magisterial district judge ''is available on a 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year basis to accept and decide on petitions for an emergency court order under'' the Older Adult Protective Services Act. 35 P. S. § 10225.307. Actions commenced under the Older Adult Protective Services Act are governed by statute and local procedures, not by these rules.
Examples of matters contemplated under paragraph (A) that may require the attention of a magisterial district judge include the issuance of orders of execution under Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 403, stays of execution under Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. Nos. 410 and 413, and orders for possession under Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 516, so that such matters are handled in a timely manner even in the absence of the magisterial district judge to whom the case would ordinarily be assigned. Litigants may be required to wait a reasonable period of time for a magisterial district judge to complete an arraignment, hearing, or trial. It is expected that the president judge will continue the established procedures in the judicial district or establish new procedures to ensure sufficient availability of magisterial district judges consistent with paragraph (A).
Under paragraph (B), one or more magisterial district judges may be temporarily assigned to serve one or more magisterial districts.
Paragraph (B)(1)(b) makes explicit the authority of the president judge to temporarily assign a magisterial district judge when another magisterial district judge has disqualified himself or herself from hearing a matter. Disqualification may occur upon the request of a party or sua sponte. See Rule 8 of the Standards of Conduct of Magisterial District Judges, 207 Pa. Code Ch. 51, R. 8. As with all judicial officers, a request for disqualification must be made directly to the magisterial district judge.
See Pa. Const. art. V, § 10(a). This rule does not provide for temporary assignments of senior magisterial district judges by president judges. See also [Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 132 and 133] Rule 17 of the Standards of Conduct of Magisterial District Judges, 207 Pa. Code Ch. 51, R. 17. Nothing in this rule is intended to conflict with Rule 17.
FINAL REPORT1
Amendment to Rule 112 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges
Availability and Temporary Assignment of Magisterial District Judges in Civil and
Possessory ActionsOn April 18, 2007, effective May 18, 2007, upon recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee,2 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania amended Rule 112 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges.3
I. Background
The Minor Court Rules Committee (the Committee) undertook a review of Rule 112 (Temporary Assignments of Magisterial District Judges) at the direction of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and in response to a recommendation of the Special Courts Administration Subcommittee of the Supreme Court's Intergovernmental Task Force to Study the District Justice System (the Task Force Subcommittee).4 In its report to the Supreme Court, the Task Force Subcommittee recommended that the rules of civil procedure for magisterial district courts provide for the ''continuous availability, during regular business hours, of at least one [magisterial] district [judge] in the judicial district to handle routine civil matters, such as the issuance of orders of execution or orders for possession, so that such matters are handled in a timely manner even in the absence of the proper issuing authority.''5 In response to this recommendation, the Supreme Court referred the matter to the Committee for its consideration, and the Committee recommended that Rule 112 be amended as explained below.
II. Discussion and Rule Changes
In its report to the Supreme Court, the Task Force Subcommittee noted that ''while the continuous availability of at least one [magisterial] district [judge] in each judicial district is required by Pa.R.Crim.P. 132,6 no similar rule existed requiring availability of a [magisterial] district [judge] to handle routine civil matters in the absence of the [judge] who would normally be required to handle the matters. The [Task Force] Subcommittee was informed that parties in civil and landlord/tenant actions, particularly judgment holders, are often frustrated by delays in the issuance of judgments, orders of execution, or orders for possession when the proper issuing authority is unavailable because of vacation, illness, attendance at mandatory continuing education classes, etc.''7 The Committee generally agreed with the recommendation of the Task Force Subcommittee, noting that the rights of parties can be adversely affected when a magisterial district judge is not available to sign and issue time sensitive documents in civil and possessory matters.8
A. Availability
A new paragraph (A) addresses the availability issue raised in the Task Force Report. Paragraph (A) requires that the president judge of each judicial district ensure the availability during regular business hours of at least one magisterial district judge to handle routine matters in civil and possessory matters that may require the attention of a judge. The expanded Official Note to the rule provides extensive explanation of new paragraph (A). The note compares these availability provisions with the coverage provisions in the Rules of Criminal Procedure, stressing that the civil availability provisions in Rule 112 are intended to apply only during regular business hours. The note also makes clear that the civil availability provisions are not intended to affect the criminal coverage requirements or the coverage requirements for the issuance of emergency relief under the Protection From Abuse Act.9 In addition, the note cross-references the Older Adult Protective Services Act10 to put president judges and magisterial district judges on notice of the after-hours availability requirements of that Act.11
The note provides three examples of matters contemplated under paragraph (A) that may require the attention of a judge--the issuance of orders of execution under Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 403, stays of execution under Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. Nos. 410 and 413, and orders for possession under Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 516--so that such matters are handled in a timely manner even in the absence of the magisterial district judge to whom the case would ordinarily be assigned. In addition, the note adds that litigants may be required to wait ''a reasonable period of time'' in order for a magisterial district judge to finish up a court proceeding in progress. Finally, recognizing that many judicial districts may already have in place sufficient systems to provide the coverage required by this paragraph, the note provides that the president judge may continue the established procedures in the judicial district or establish new procedures as needed.
B. Temporary Assignment
A new paragraph (B) provides for and expands upon the provisions of existing paragraph A. New paragraph (B)(1) provides that the president judge or his or her designee may temporarily assign a magisterial district judge to satisfy the requirements of new paragraph (A), when a magisterial district judge disqualifies himself or herself from hearing a matter, or to otherwise provide for the efficient administration of justice. The references in the existing rule to temporary assignments to the Pittsburgh Magistrates Court and the Traffic Court of Philadelphia have been deleted.12 New paragraph (B)(2) requires that notice of temporary assignments of magisterial district judges be posted in all magisterial district courts affected by the temporary assignment.
New paragraph (B)(3) contains the provisions of existing paragraph B with only minor editorial changes.
The expanded Official Note to the rule also provides explanation of paragraph (B). Among other things, the note makes clear that a magisterial district judge may disqualify himself or herself from a matter at the request of a party or sua sponte, as is often the case in these matters. The note also makes clear that, as with all judicial officers, a request for disqualification must be made directly to the magisterial district judge.
C. Minor Technical Amendments
In addition to the substantive amendments discussed above, a cross reference to Rule 17 of the Standards of Conduct of Magisterial District Judges is included in the Official Note, along with a statement clarifying that nothing in Rule 112 is intended to conflict with Rule 17. Rule 17 sets forth the president judges' general supervisory authority of the magisterial district courts in the judicial district. Finally, in order to properly describe the expanded content of the rule, the title of the rule has been changed to ''Availability and Temporary Assignments of Magisterial District Judges.''
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-774. Filed for public inspection May 4, 2007, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 The Committee's Final Report should not be confused with the Official Notes to the Rules. Also, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania does not adopt the Committee's Official Notes or the contents of the explanatory Final Report.
2 Recommendation No. 3 Minor Court Rules 2006.
3 Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 236, Magisterial Docket No. 1 (April 18, 2007).
4 The Intergovernmental Task Force to Study the District Justice System was convened on May 30, 2001 ''to examine the current state of the district justice court system'' and to ''propose clear standards for the decennial magisterial district reestablishment, identify immediate and long-term system problems and needs, and formulate solutions to ensure the prudent and effective administration of the district justice courts.'' Report of the Intergovernmental Task Force to Study the District Justice System vii (October 2001) (available online at http://www.courts.state.pa.us/) (hereinafter Task Force Report).
5 Id. at 49.
6 The after-hours coverage provisions of Pa.R.Crim.P. 132 were removed and such matters are now governed by Pa.R.Crim.P. 117, effective August 1, 2006. See 35 Pa.B. 3901 (July 16, 2005).
7 Task Force Report at 49-50.
8 The Committee noted that there are many legitimate reasons why a magisterial district judge may be unavailable to sign and issue time sensitive documents. The Task Force Report lists three reasons--''vacation, illness, attendance at mandatory continuing education classes.'' Others may include official court-related meetings and absences due to after-hours coverage duty.
9 23 Pa.C.S. §§ 6101--6118. See supra, note 3 and Pa. R.C.P.M.D.J. Nos. 1201--1211.
10 Act of Nov. 6, 1987, P. L. 381, No. 79 as amended (35 P. S. §§ 10225.101--10225.5102).
11 See Recommendation 1 Minor Court Rules 2006 (May 8, 2006) and its accompanying explanatory Report, n.8.
12 The former Pittsburgh Magistrates Court has been transitioned into the magisterial district court system, and the president judge of the Fifth Judicial District (Allegheny County) has authority to assign magisterial district judges to hear cases that would formerly be heard in the Pittsburgh Magistrates Court and the Pittsburgh Housing Court. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 212, Magisterial Docket No. 1 (November 29, 2004) (34 Pa.B. 6507) and Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 215, Magisterial Docket No. 1 (February 25, 2005) (35 Pa.B. 1662). Temporary assignments of magisterial district judges to the Traffic Court of Philadelphia are accomplished by order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and coordinated by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Accordingly, Rule 112 need not specifically refer to either court.
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