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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 13-1299

THE COURTS

[ 234 PA. CODE CH. 10 ]

Order Revising the Comment to Rule 1013 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure; No. 434 Criminal Procedural Rules Doc.

[43 Pa.B. 4062]
[Saturday, July 20, 2013]

Order

Per Curiam

 And Now, this 1st day of July, 2013, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a)(3) in the interests of justice and efficient administration, 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 the revision to the Comment to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 1013 is approved in the following form.

 This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective August 1, 2013.

Annex A

TITLE 234. RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

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

PART A. Philadelphia Municipal Court Procedures

Rule 1013. Prompt Trial—Municipal Court.

*  *  *  *  *

Comment

*  *  *  *  *

 Paragraph (A)(4) is intended to provide a minimum 60-day period for trial of those cases which become Municipal Court cases when, at the preliminary hearing, in court, or otherwise after preliminary arraignment, all offenses punishable by more than five years imprisonment are discharged.

 The time for trial in cases that originate as Court of Common Pleas cases and are transferred to the Municipal Court but are subsequently transferred back to the Court of Common Pleas are governed by Rule 600. See Commonwealth v. Far,   Pa. , 46 A.3d 709 (2012).

 ''Order requiring the retrial,'' as used in paragraph (H) is intended to include, for example, the declaration of a mistrial, or the withdrawal, rejection of, or successful challenge to a guilty plea.

 Official Note: Rule 6013 adopted June 28, 1974, effective prospectively as set forth in paragraphs (A)(1) and (A)(2) of this rule; amended July 1, 1980, effective August 1, 1980; amended October 22, 1981, effective January 1, 1982; the amendment to paragraph (D) as it regards exclusion of defense-requested continuances was specifically made effective as to continuances requested on or after January 1, 1982, and paragraph (H), which provides the time for retrials, was specifically made effective as to retrials required by orders entered on or after January 1, 1982; amended September 3, 1993, effective January 1, 1994; renumbered Rule 1013 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; amended August 8, 2002, effective January 1, 2003; amended June 26, 2003, effective July 1, 2003; Comment revised July 1, 2013, effective August 1, 2013.

Committee Explanatory Reports:

*  *  *  *  *

 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).

*  *  *  *  *

 Final Report explaining the July 1, 2013 Comment revision cross-referencing Commonwealth v. Far published with the Court's Order at 43 Pa.B. 4063 (July 20, 2013).

FINAL REPORT1

Revision to the Comment to Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 1013

The Time for Trial in Cases Transferred from the Court of Common Pleas to the Municipal Court
but are Subsequently Transferred Back
to the Court of Common Pleas

 On July 1, 2013, effective August 1, 2013, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, the Court approved the revision to the Comment to Rule of Criminal Procedure 1013, adding a cross-reference to Commonwealth v. Far, __ Pa. __ , 46 A.3d 709 (2012).

 On June 18, 2012, the Court issued its opinion in the case of Commonwealth v. Far, __ Pa. __ , 46 A.3d 709 (2012), addressing whether the Rule 600 or Rule 1013 speedy trial provisions should be applied when a case is originally brought in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, remanded to the Municipal Court, and subsequently transferred back to the Court of Common Pleas for a Commonwealth-requested jury trial.

 Rule 600 provides that a case in which the defendant is free on bail must be brought to trial within 365 days from the filing of the complaint. Rule 1013 contains the speedy trial provisions applicable to the Philadelphia Municipal Court, specifically paragraph (A)(4) that states that a case that originates in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas but is then ordered to be tried in the Philadelphia Municipal Court must commence no later than 180 days from the date on which the preliminary arraignment is held or 60 days from the date on which the order is made, whichever is greater.

 In Commonwealth v. Far, the defendants were originally charged with felony drug distribution on February 6, 2007. After several continuances of the preliminary hearing due to the Commonwealth's inability to obtain a chemical laboratory report, the felony charges were withdrawn on July 13, 2007 and the case, which consisted only of misdemeanor charges, was remanded to the Municipal Court. On October 1, 2007, the Commonwealth indicated it would exercise its right to jury trial and petitioned to transfer the case back to the Court of Common Pleas. A preliminary hearing was held on December 7, 2007 and the case was held for trial at the Court of Common Pleas. In February 2008, the defendants moved for dismissal of the charges on speedy trial grounds under Rule 1013(A)(4). The Commonwealth argued that Rule 600 should be applied. The trial court and Superior Court agreed with the defendants' positions and found a speedy trial violation.

 This Court reversed, finding that Rule 1013 did not address the situation in which a case is subsequently transferred back to the Court of Common Pleas. Rule 1000 provides, where there is a procedure that is governed by a statewide procedural rule that is not covered by a Chapter 10 rule or Philadelphia local rule, the statewide rule will govern. Furthermore, Rule 1000 defines the Chapter 10 rules as governing ''all proceedings in the Philadelphia Municipal Court'' and, because the case was no longer in the Municipal Court, it was no longer a proceeding encompassed by Chapter 10.

 The Committee concluded that it would be helpful to refer the bench and bar to this analysis. Therefore, the Comment to Rule 1013 has been revised to add a cross-reference to the opinion in Far.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-1299. Filed for public inspection July 19, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]

_______

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.


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