THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL
COURT RULES

BERKS COUNTY

Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition in Summary Cases; 14-96; No. 4 AD 2014

[44 Pa.B. 1752]
[Saturday, March 22, 2014]

Administrative Order

 And Now, this 11th day of January, 2014, pursuant to Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure 300—302, it is Ordered that the following procedures are adopted for an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for certain summary cases in the Magisterial District Courts within the Twenty-third Judicial District of Pennsylvania.

 The District Court Administrator of Berks County is Ordered and Directed to provide copies to the appropriate entities pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 105:

 1. File one (1) certified copy of this Administrative Order and Local Rule with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

 2. Distribute two (2) certified paper copies of this Administrative Order and Local Rule and one (1) computer diskette or CD-ROM containing this Order and Rule to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 3. Publish a copy of the Administrative Order and Local Rule on the Unified Judicial System's web site at http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/localrules/ruleselection.aspx.

 4. Keep continuously available for public inspection copies of the Administrative Order and Local Rule in the office of the Prothonotary or Clerk of Courts.

 This Administrative Order shall become effective thirty days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

By the Court

PAUL M. YATRON, 
President Judge

ACCELERATED REHABILITATIVE DISPOSITION (ARD)

Rule 300. Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition in Summary Cases.

 1. Upon request of the District Attorney of Berks County, a defendant charged with any one of the following summary offenses shall be eligible for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (hereinafter ARD) to be supervised by the Magisterial District Judge (hereinafter MDJ) pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 300—302 and 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 1520: criminal mischief, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, harassment, public drunkenness, retail theft, truancy, or underage drinking.

Rule 301. Procedures for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition in Summary Cases before the Minor Judiciary.

 1. The cost of the ARD program for summary cases is $100.00.

 2. The defendant shall make written application to the MDJ for admission into the summary ARD program.

 a. Upon receipt of the application for admission into the summary ARD program, the MDJ shall forward to the District Attorney a copy of the defendant's application.

 b. The District Attorney shall review said application and notify the MDJ of a decision to either approve or deny the application. If the District Attorney denies the application, the MDJ shall be notified of the reason(s) for denial.

 3. If the District Attorney denies the defendant's application, the MDJ shall notify the defendant that his/her application has been denied and the case shall then proceed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. If the District Attorney approves the defendant's application, the MDJ shall notify the defendant of such approval and shall set a hearing date for admission into the program.

 4. A defendant accepted into ARD may be referred to any of the following programs and shall pay any costs associated with a program:

 a. The Underage Drinking Program of Berks County

 b. STOPLIFT Adult Shoplifting Intervention Program

 c. STOPLIFT Juvenile Shoplifting Intervention Program

 d. Adult Probation Community Service Program

 e. Juvenile Probation Community Service Program

 f. A recommended program subject to approval by the District Attorney.

 5. Community service program hours shall be assigned in 4-hour increments and shall not exceed 40 hours for offenders referred to the Adult Probation Community Service Program or shall not exceed 20 hours for offenders referred to the Juvenile Probation Community Service Program.

 6. All costs and restitution, if any, must be paid before completion of the ARD program.

 7. If the MDJ deems that the defendant has met all of the requirements of the ARD program, the summary charge filed against the defendant shall be dismissed. In the MDJS, the summary case appears ''ARD Open'' while the defendant is on ARD. Upon completion of the ARD program, the MDJ shall record a ''Dismissed by ARD'' disposition to close the case. If the MDJ deems that the defendant has failed to complete all of the requirements of the ARD Program, the defendant shall be terminated from the ARD program, and the case shall proceed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. No summary case shall remain active for purposes of ARD supervision in excess of six (6) months.

 In the MDJS, ''ARD Open'' and ''Dismissed by ARD'' shall not be used for any summary case that is not processed through the District Attorney's ARD program for summary cases.

 8. Each MDJ shall submit to the District Attorney a monthly report on the disposition of all cases eligible for ARD, where applications were submitted for admission into the program. The District Attorney shall compile these monthly reports and monitor the cases. The monthly report submitted by each MDJ shall include: a record of defendants who participate in the ARD program; those who were eligible but not admitted to ARD and the reasons for not admitting the defendant; those who complete the ARD program; those who do not complete the program; and those defendants that pay in full the costs associated with the program.

 9. The ARD application referred to in paragraph 2 shall be in substantially the following form:

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania		:    Magisterial District 23-______
		:
vs.		:    Docket No.: ______
		:
_________________		:

_______________________________________________

APPLICATION FOR ACCELERATED REHABILITATVIE DISPOSITION (ARD) FOR A SUMMARY CASE

_______________________________________________

Defendant is applying for ARD for a summary case and represents the following:

 (Please print the requested information.)

 1. Defendant's present address and telephone number: _________________

 _____________________________________

 2. Defendant's date of birth: ___________________________

 3. Prior Arrest(s): (Circle one) ______YES______/______NO_________________

 4. Date citation filed: ___________________________

 5. Law Enforcement Officer: ___________________________

 6. Offense: ___________________________

COPY OF CITATION MUST BE FILED WITH APPLICATION

 I am requesting that my summary case be considered for ARD. I understand that if the District Attorney denies my application for ARD, my summary case will then proceed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.

 _________________   _________________
 Signature of Defendant            Date

 ___________________________

   This application for ARD has been _____ approved _____ denied.

 Reason: ___________________________

 _________________   _________________
 Signature of District Attorney         Date

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-579. Filed for public inspection March 21, 2014, 9:00 a.m.]

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