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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 12-75

THE COURTS

Title 231—RULES OF
CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART I. GENERAL

[ 231 PA. CODE CH. 200 ]

Amendment of Rule 223.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure; No. 554 Civil Procedural Rules Doc.

[42 Pa.B. 377]
[Saturday, January 21, 2012]

Order

Per Curiam

 And Now, this 23rd day of December, 2011, upon the recommendation of the Civil Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been published for public comment at 40 Pa.B. 6259 (October 30, 2010) and in the Atlantic Reporter (Third Series Advance Sheets, Vol. 4 No. 4):

 It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 223.1 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 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 February 1, 2012.

Annex A

TITLE 231. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

PART I. GENERAL

CHAPTER 200. BUSINESS OF COURTS

Rule 223.1. Conduct of the Trial. Trial by Jury.

*  *  *  *  *

 (c) The court may

 (1) permit specified testimony to be read back to the jury upon the jury's request,

 (2) charge the jury at any time during the trial, [and]

 Official Note: The court is not limited to charging the jury after the closing argument by the attorneys[,].

 (3) make exhibits available to the jury during its deliberations[.], and

 (4) make a written copy of the charge or instructions, or a portion thereof, available to the jury following the oral charge or instructions at the conclusion of evidence for use during its deliberations.

Explanatory Comment

 Current Rule 223.1 governing the conduct of a jury trial does not contain a provision for the trial court to give the jury a written copy of the oral charge or instructions. With the recent adoption of amendments to Pa.R.Crim.P. 646, which permits a trial judge to allow the jury to have written copies of the judge's charge during deliberations, the Supreme Court has adopted a similar amendment to Rule 223.1. The amendment to subdivision (c)(4) will permit the trial court to provide the jury with a written copy of the oral charge or instructions at the conclusion of evidence.

By the Civil Procedural Rules Committee

DIANE W. PERER, 
Chair

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 12-75. Filed for public inspection January 20, 2012, 9:00 a.m.]


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