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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 08-725

THE COURTS

Title 255--LOCAL
COURT RULES

DAUPHIN COUNTY

Change to Warrant Handling Procedures; AO-9-2008; Rescinding AO-01-2008 and AO-05-2008; No. 0004-7 MD 2008

[38 Pa.B. 1819]
[Saturday, April 19, 2008]

Order

   And Now, this 8th day of April, 2008, It Is Hereby Ordered and Decreed that AO-01-2008 (dated January 7, 2008) and AO-05-2008 (dated March 3, 2008) are hereby rescinded. It is further ordered that, effective June 1, 2008:

A.  Responsibilities of Police Departments and DCEMA

   All warrants, whether summary, misdemeanor or felony, shall be retained by the initiating officer's police department. Dauphin County Emergency Management Agency (DCEMA) shall no longer act as the repository for warrant hard copies. DCEMA shall also discontinue entry of misdemeanor/felony warrant information into the METRO system; however, DCEMA shall continue to receive Wanted Person Entry Forms for entry into NCIC/CLEAN.

B.  Summary Warrants

   (1)  When a summary warrant in a Dauphin County case is listed as active on:

   *  the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) MDJ system,

   *  an AOPC Warrant Summary Sheet (aopcapps.jnet. state.pa.us/Restricted/StateWarrants/WarrantIndex.aspx?id=56) (see example at Appendix A),

   *  JNET (www.jnet.state.pa.us/FindWarrantWebApp/index.jsp) (see example at Appendix B), or

   *  METRO (See example at Appendix C),

paperwork from those repositories shall be accepted as proof of an outstanding summary warrant and given the same force and effect as the warrant itself.

   (2)  When a defendant arrested on a METRO summary warrant is brought in front of the Magistrate, the arresting/detaining agency shall present the corresponding AOPC or JNET paperwork as well as the METRO warrant. A defendant arrested on a summary warrant shall be brought into Night Court or before the Magisterial District Judge who issued the warrant.

   (3)  Police officers and constables are reminded that Pa.R.Crim.P.431(B) allows the officer/constable to accept from the defendant the full amount of fines and costs, or collateral, as stated on the summary warrant; a receipt must then be issued.

C.  Warrants in Court Cases (Felony/Misdemeanor)

   (1)  In the case of a bench warrant (formerly referred to as a capias) issued in a court case by any Court of Common Pleas or any Magisterial District Court, the Dauphin County Prison shall detain and commit the defendant upon presentation of the AOPC Warrant Summary sheet or a hard copy of the bench warrant.

   (2)  Upon service of an arrest warrant in a court case, the defendant may be detained by the magistrate based on an AOPC Warrant Summary Sheet or a METRO warrant. When a defendant arrested on a METRO warrant is brought before the magistrate, the arresting/detaining agency shall present the corresponding AOPC paperwork as well as the METRO warrant. The arresting/detaining agency shall obtain the CLEAN/NCIC confirmation and faxed copies of the warrant from the agency in possession of such warrant. The defendant will receive a copy of the warrant and supporting documents from the issuing authority at the time of preliminary arraignment in accordance with Pa.R.Crim.P. 540(C). If the NCIC/CLEAN hit is from outside of Dauphin County and the agency is not immediately available to pick up the defendant, the officer shall file the appropriate charge under 42 Pa.C.S.A. Sections 9161, et seq.

D.  Certified Copies of Warrants

   A warrant issued by the Court of Common Pleas or any Magisterial District Judge is a public record. Upon request, the Clerk of Court and any Magisterial District Judge shall provide a certified copy of any warrant to any police officer without charge. Judges may not restrict who may serve a particular warrant.

E.  Distribution/Interpretation of this Order

   The District Attorney's Office of Dauphin County is directed to forward a copy of this Administrative Order to all law enforcement agencies operating in Dauphin County. It should be noted that the procedures outlined in this order will continue to be updated to correspond with further modifications to the AOPC, CPCMS, JNET and METRO systems. While total compatibility amongst these systems remains a laudable goal, this court recognizes that discrepancies occasionally surface. In the interest of uniformity, Magisterial District Judges shall resolve any such discrepancies in favor of AOPC records. The District Court Administrator's Office is directed to distribute this Administrative Order to the appropriate agencies pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 105.

By the Court

RICHARD A. LEWIS,   
President Judge

 

 

 

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 08-725. Filed for public inspection April 18, 2008, 9:00 a.m.]


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