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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 07-82

THE COURTS

Title 234--RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

[234 PA. CODE CH. 10]

Order Amending Rule 1001; No. 352 Criminal Procedural Rules; Doc. No. 2

[37 Pa.B. 312]
[Saturday, January 20, 2007]

Order

Per Curiam:

   Now, this 5th day of January, 2007, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been published before adoption at 35 Pa.B. 1416 (February 26, 2005), and in the Atlantic Reporter (Second Series Advance Sheets, Vol. 865), 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 of Criminal Procedure 1001 is amended in the following form.

   This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 103(b), and shall be effective March 6, 2007.

Annex A

TITLE 234.  RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 10.  RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE FOR THE PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL COURT AND THE PHILADELPHIA TRAFFIC COURT

Rule 1001.  Disposition of Criminal Cases--Philadelphia Municipal Court.

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   (D)  The attorney for the Commonwealth may file with the Municipal Court Clerk of Quarter Sessions a written certification to exercise the Commonwealth's right to a jury trial in a Municipal Court case. The attorney for the Commonwealth shall serve a copy of the certification on counsel for the defendant, or the defendant if unrepresented, and on the President Judge of Municipal Court. Upon receipt of the certification, the President Judge shall promptly schedule a preliminary hearing, and the case shall be conducted as provided in Rules 541, 542, and 543. When a case is held for court, the case shall remain in the Common Pleas Court through final disposition.

Comment

   This rule, which defines ''Municipal Court Case,'' is intended to ensure that the Municipal Court will take dispositive action, including trial and verdict when appropriate, in any criminal case that does not involve a felony, excluding summary cases under the Vehicle Code. The latter are under the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia Traffic Court, see 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 1301--1303, 1321.

   Paragraph (D) was added in 2007 in accord with the 1998 amendment to article I, § 6 of the Pennsylvania Constitution that provides that ''the Commonwealth shall have the same right to trial by jury as does the accused.'' See Commonwealth v. Hargraves, 883 A.2d 616 (Pa. Super. 2005), allocatur denied, 587 Pa. 711, 898 A.2d 1069 (Pa. 2006). The filing and service requirement in paragraph (D) must be accomplished as provided in Rule 576. Once a case is bound over to Common Pleas Court, the trial judge may not remand the case to the Municipal Court for any reason, even if the right to jury trial is waived.

   Official Note:  Present Rule 6001 adopted March 28, 1973, effective March 28, 1973, replacing prior Rule 6001; amended June 28, 1974, effective July 1, 1974; paragraph (C) added February 10, 1975, effective immediately; title amended July 1, 1980, effective August 1, 1980; Comment revised January 28, 1983, effective July 1, 1983; amended June 19, 1996, effective July 1, 1996; amended August 28, 1998, effective immediately; renumbered Rule 1001 and Comment revised March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; amended August 24, 2004, effective August 1, 2005; amended January 5, 2007, effective March 6, 2007.

Committee Explanatory Reports:

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   Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court's Order at 30 Pa.B. [1477] 1478 (March 18, 2000).

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   Final Report explaining the January 5, 2007 amendments adding paragraph (D) concerning the Commonwealth's right to a jury trial in a Municipal Court case published with the Court's Order at 37 Pa.B. 313 (January 20, 2007).

FINAL REPORT1

Amendments to Pa.R.Crim.P. 1001

Commonwealth Right to Jury Trial in the Philadelphia Municipal Court

   On January 5, 2007, effective March 6, 2007, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, the Court amended Rule 1001. The changes provide a procedure for the transfer of cases from the Philadelphia Municipal Court to the Court of Common Pleas when the Commonwealth intends to assert its right to jury trial in a misdemeanor case.

Background

   The Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, for some time, had under consideration a suggestion by one of its members that Rule 1001 (Disposition of Criminal Cases--Philadelphia Municipal Court) be amended to accommodate in misdemeanor cases in Philadelphia the Commonwealth's right to a jury trial as established by the 1998 amendment to Article I, § 6 of the Pennsylvania Constitution providing ''the Commonwealth shall have the same right to a trial by jury as does the accused.''2 The recent Superior Court decision in Commonwealth v. Hargraves, 883 A.2d 616 (2005), appeal denied, 587 Pa. 711, 898 A.2d 1069 (Pa. 2006), added impetus to the discussion of this issue.

   The Philadelphia Municipal Court's jurisdiction over misdemeanors and the prohibition on jury trials in Municipal Court originally were established in 1968 in Schedule Article 5, § 16 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The statutory jurisdictional authority for the Municipal Court initially was provided in 1976 in the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 1123, which states that the Municipal Court has jurisdiction over ''Criminal offenses by any person (other than a juvenile) for which no prison term may be imposed . . . of not more than five years . . . .'' The statute specifically states that a defendant has no right to a jury trial in Municipal Court but shall have the right of appeal for trial de novo, including the right to trial by jury, to the court of common pleas. Rule 1001, originally adopted in 1973, provides a procedure for transfer to the Court of Common Pleas and by-passing of Municipal Court proceedings in two situations. The first is upon the certification of the defense counsel in order to assert the right to jury trial. The second is upon certification by both defense and prosecution upon the grounds that the trial before the Municipal Court would be so time consuming as to unduly disrupt court business. In either case, approval for such a transfer must be granted by the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

   Because both 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 1123 and Rule 1001 were established well before the 1998 constitutional amendment that established the Commonwealth's right to a jury trial, the constitutional, statutory, and rule provisions are silent on how to effectuate the Commonwealth's jury trial right in misdemeanor cases in Philadelphia creating a procedural gap. This procedural gap became a divisive issue in Philadelphia resulting in Commonwealth v. Hargraves, supra. The Superior Court reversed the denial of the Commonwealth's petition to transfer the case from the Municipal Court to the court of common pleas for trial by jury, finding that this is the only manner in which the Commonwealth would be able to exercise its right to jury trial in Municipal Court cases, noting, inter alia, that the right to appeal for a trial de novo would not be available to the Commonwealth in a case in which the defendant has been found not guilty by the Municipal Court judge. The Superior Court also specifically rejected the claim that an absence of a procedure in Rule 1001 precluded allowance of the Commonwealth's request for transfer.

   In view of this background, the Committee concluded that there was a need to rectify the procedural gap in the rules within the parameters enumerated in Hargraves.

Discussion of Amendment to Rule 1001

   Noting that Rule 1001(C) provides a vehicle to by-pass Municipal Court proceedings for the defendant's assertion of the right to jury trial, the Committee agreed a new paragraph would be added to Rule 1001 that would similarly effectuate the Commonwealth's right to trial by jury in such cases. Relying on recommendations from the Ad Hoc Subcommittee that was formed to develop the procedures for the exercise of the Commonwealth's right to a jury trial,3 the Committee recommended a procedure that would have the Commonwealth file a certification with the Municipal Court Clerk of Quarter Sessions with copies to the defense and the President Judge of the Municipal Court, without time limits. The Committee reasoned that requiring the Commonwealth to file their jury trial certification within a specified time limit would unnecessarily place a limitation on the Commonwealth that is not placed on the defense.

   Accordingly, new paragraph (D) requires, upon the filing of a written certification by the attorney for the Commonwealth stating that the Commonwealth is seeking a trial by jury, that a case presently in the Municipal Court be promptly scheduled for a preliminary hearing and thereafter conducted as a regular court case pursuant to Rules 541, 542, and 543.

   Recognizing that double jeopardy issues are implicated when the Commonwealth seeks an appeal from a Municipal Court decision, the Committee recommended that the transfer of such cases be mandatory in order to preserve the Commonwealth's right to a jury trial. Thus, unlike the other transfer provisions in Rule 1001(C), new paragraph (D) does not provide for the approval of the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

   The Comment to Rule 1001 is revised to include a cross-reference to Hargraves, and an instruction that the filing and service requirements in new paragraph (D) must be accomplished as provided in Rule 576. Once a case proceeds under the provisions of paragraph (D) and is bound over to the Court of Common Pleas, it may not be returned to the Municipal Court for any reason, including a later waiver of jury trial.

   Finally, a cross-reference to the constitutional provision establishing the Commonwealth's right to a jury trial is added to the Rule 1001 Comment.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-82. Filed for public inspection January 19, 2007, 9:00 a.m.]

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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  The 1999 amendments to Rule of Criminal Procedure 620 (Waiver of Jury Trial) similarly acknowledged the Commonwealth's right to trial by jury.

3  The Committee appointed an Ad Hoc Subcommittee made up of representatives of the Philadelphia Municipal and Common Pleas Courts to assist the Committee in developing the procedures that affect Philadelphia only. The members of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee were Philadelphia Administrative Judge Fitzgerald, Municipal Court President Judge Presenza, Court Administrator for the First Judicial District David Lawrence, Municipal Court Deputy Court Administrator Kathleen Rapone, and representatives of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, the Philadelphia Public Defender's Office, and the Committee.


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