THE COURTS

Title 255--LOCAL
COURT RULES

PIKE COUNTY

Amendment to Criminal Local Rule 571; Civil Division; Doc. No. 2187-2008

[38 Pa.B. 6601]
[Saturday, December 6, 2008]

Order

   And Now, this 17th day of November, 2008, the Court Orders the following:

   1.  Local Rule of Criminal Procedure 571 is hereby amended effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;

   2.  The Court Administrator of the 60th Judicial District is hereby Ordered to do the following:

   a.  File seven (7) certified copies of this Order and the pertinent Rules with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts;

   b.  File two (2) certified copies and a computer diskette containing this Order and the pertinent Rule with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;

   c.  File one (1) certified copy of this Order and the pertinent Rule with the Civil Procedural Committee;

   d.  Provide one (1) copy of this Order and the Local Rule to each member of the Pike County Bar Association who maintain an active practice in Pike County; and

   e.  Keep continuously available for public inspection, copies of this Order and the Local Rules.

By the Court

HONORABLE JOSEPH F. KAMEEN,   
President Judge

Local Rule 571. Arraignment Procedures.

   1.  Procedure for Arraignment

   a.  All arraignments shall be in accordance with Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 571.

   b.  The District Attorney's Office is designated to handle the scheduling and disposition of all arraignments unless otherwise directed by the Court.

   c.  Arraignment shall take place no later than ten (10) days after indictment or information has been filed unless otherwise postponed by the Court for cause shown.

   d.  The defendant and counsel, if an appearance has been entered, shall receive written notice of the arraignment not later than five (5) days before the date scheduled for the arraignment. Notice shall be given by first class mail to the last known address of the defendant in accordance with the following:

ARRAIGNMENT
NOTICE TO APPEAR
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
v.
_________________
No. _____ -20 _____

   You are directed to appear under penalty of forfeiture of bail at the Pike County Courthouse, Milford, Pennsylvania on the ____ day of ______ , 20 ____ at ____ ____  .M. for arraignment.

INSTRUCTIONS

   1.  You have been directed to appear for arraignment. At the arraignment, you will be advised of the nature of the charges against you, after which you are asked to state whether you plead ''guilty'' or ''not guilty''.

   2.  If you have an attorney, contact him/her immediately. If you do not have an attorney it would be to your advantage to retain one without further delay. You have a right to be represented by a lawyer. If you believe you cannot afford a lawyer, then you should immediately make application to the Office of the Public Defender.

   3.  The arraignment procedure may be waived, making it unnecessary for you to appear as scheduled above, BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL AND BOTH YOU AND COUNSEL HAVE SIGNED A FORMAL WAIVER OF ARRAIGNMENT, and have properly filed that waiver with the Court and the District Attorney.

   4.  You may enter a plea of guilty to these charges. If you desire to plead guilty, notify the District Attorney at the below address, and he will arrange for a guilty plea at the time of arraignment or at a time to be scheduled following arraignment.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PIKE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
506 BROAD STREET
MILFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 18337
570-296-3482

   e.  A defendant who is represented by counsel may waive arraignment. When a defendant represented by counsel waives arraignment prior to the scheduled formal arraignment, the original waiver must be delivered to the District Attorney at least 48 hours prior to the arraignment date. The waiver will be presented to the Court by the District Attorney at the scheduled time for arraignment for Court approval before the waiver is formally entered in the docket. Compliance with these time periods shall excuse Defendant and counsel from appearance at the scheduled arraignment. The time periods for filing the request for a bill of particulars, the discovery motion and the omnibus pretrial motion shall begin and be calculated from the date on which the Court approves the waiver. Waiver of Arraignment shall be in accordance with the following form:

   f.  If a defendant is incarcerated in the Pike County Correctional Facility, the arraignment shall be conducted by two-way simultaneous audio-visual communication (i.e., video conferencing). If a defendant is incarcerated in a facility other than Pike County Correctional Facility, the arraignment may be conducted by video conferencing at the discretion of the Court.

   g.  If a defendant is unrepresented when he appears for arraignment, the Court will reschedule the arraignment and defendant will be directed to immediately apply for a Public Defender. The Public Defender will determine whether the defendant is qualified for representation and, if so, will undertake representation of the defendant. If the defendant fails to qualify for Public Defender representation and appears at the rescheduled arraignment unrepresented, the defendant will be formally arraigned at that time by the Court.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 08-2193. Filed for public inspection December 5, 2008, 9:00 a.m.]

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