THE COURTS
[ 234 PA. CODE CH. 5 ]
Order Adopting the Amendment to Rule 550 and Approving the Revision of the Comment to Rule 591 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure; No. 445 Criminal Procedural Rules Doc.
[44 Pa.B. 477]
[Saturday, January 25, 2014]
Order Per Curiam
And Now, this 6th day of January, 2014, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been published before adoption at 43 Pa.B. 4210 (July 27, 2013), and in the Atlantic Reporter (Third Series Advance Sheets, Vol. 68), 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 amendment to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 550 is adopted and the revision to the Comment to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 591 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 March 1, 2014.
Annex A
TITLE 234. RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 5. PRETRIAL PROCEDURES IN COURT CASES
PART D. Proceedings in Court Cases Before Issuing Authorities Rule 550. Pleas of Guilty Before Magisterial District Judge in Court Cases.
* * * * * (D) A defendant who enters a plea of guilty under this rule may, within [10] 30 days after sentence, change the plea to not guilty by so notifying the magisterial district judge in writing. In such event, the magisterial district judge shall vacate the plea and judgment of sentence, and the case shall proceed in accordance with Rule 547, as though the defendant had been held for court.
(E) [Ten] Thirty days after the acceptance of the guilty plea and the imposition of sentence, the magisterial district judge shall certify the judgment, and shall forward the case to the clerk of courts of the judicial district for further proceedings.
Comment * * * * * Prior to accepting a plea of guilty under this rule, it is suggested that the magisterial district judge consult with the attorney for the Commonwealth concerning the case, concerning the defendant's possible eligibility for ARD or other types of diversion, and concerning possible related offenses that might be charged in the same complaint. See Commonwealth v. Campana, 452 Pa. 233, 304 A.2d 432 (1973), vacated and remanded, [414 U. S. 808 (1973), on remand,] 414 U.S. 808 (1973), on remand, 455 Pa. 622, 314 A.2d 854 (1974).
Before accepting a plea:
* * * * * (d) The magisterial district judge should advise the defendant that, if the defendant wants to change the plea to not guilty, the defendant, within [10] 30 days after imposition of sentence, must notify the magisterial district judge who accepted the plea of this decision in writing.
* * * * * See Rule 590 and the Comment thereto for further elaboration of the required colloquy. See also Commonwealth v. Minor, 467 Pa. 230, 356 A.2d 346 (1976), overruled on other grounds in Commonwealth v. Minarik, 493 Pa. 573, 427 A.2d 623, 627 (1981); Commonwealth v. Ingram, 455 Pa. 198, 316 A.2d 77 (1974); Commonwealth v. Martin, 445 [A.2d] Pa. 49, 282 A.2d 241 (1971).
While the rule continues to require a written plea incorporating the contents specified in paragraph (C), the form of plea was deleted in 1985 because it is no longer necessary to control the specific form of written plea by rule.
Paragraph (C) does not preclude verbatim transcription of the colloquy and plea.
The time limit for withdrawal of the plea contained in paragraph (D) was increased from 10 days to 30 days in 2014 to place a defendant who enters a plea to a misdemeanor before a magisterial district judge closer to the position of a defendant who pleads guilty to the same offense in common pleas court or a defendant who pleads guilty to a summary offense before a magisterial district judge. A 30-day time period for withdrawal of the plea is consistent with the 30-day period for summary appeal and the 30-day common pleas guilty plea appeal period.
Withdrawal of the guilty plea is the only relief available before a magisterial district judge for a defendant who has entered a plea pursuant to this rule. Any further challenge to the entry of the plea must be sought in the court of common pleas.
At the time of sentencing, or at any time within the [10-day] 30-day period before transmitting the case to the clerk of courts pursuant to paragraph (E), the magisterial district judge may accept payment of, or may establish a payment schedule for, installment payments of restitution, fines, and costs.
* * * * * Official Note: Rule 149 adopted June 30, 1977, effective September 1, 1977; Comment revised January 28, 1983, effective July 1, 1983; amended November 9, 1984, effective January 2, 1985; amended August 22, 1997, effective January 1, 1998; renumbered Rule 550 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; amended December 9, 2005, effective February 1, 2006; amended January 6, 2014, effective March 1, 2014.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
Final Report explaining the August 22, 1997 amendments that clarify the procedures following a district justice's acceptance of a guilty plea and imposition of sentence in a court case published with the Court's order at 27 Pa.B. [4549] 4548 (September 6, 1997).
* * * * * Final Report explaining the January 6, 2014 changes to the rule increasing the time for withdrawal of the guilty plea from 10 to 30 days published with the Court's Order at 44 Pa.B. 478 (January 25, 2014).
PART H. Plea Procedures Rule 591. Withdrawal of Plea of Guilty or Nolo Contendere.
* * * * *
Comment * * * * * After the attorney for the Commonwealth has had an opportunity to respond, a request to withdraw a plea made before sentencing should be liberally allowed. See Commonwealth v. Randolph, 553 Pa. 224, 718 A.2d 1242 ([Pa.] 1998); Commonwealth v. Forbes, 450 Pa. 185, 299 A.2d 268 ([Pa.] 1973).
When a defendant is permitted to withdraw a guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere under this rule and proceeds with a non-jury trial, the court and the parties should consider whether recusal might be appropriate to avoid prejudice to the defendant. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Pierce, 515 Pa. 153, 527 A.2d 973 ([Pa.] 1987).
For a discussion of plea withdrawals when a guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere includes a plea agreement, see the Comment to Rule 590.
For the procedures for withdrawal of guilty pleas entered before a magisterial district judge in a court case, see Rule 550(D).
Official Note: Rule 320 adopted June 30, 1964, effective January 1, 1965; Comment added June 29, 1977, effective September 1, 1977; Comment revised March 22, 1993, effective January 1, 1994; Comment deleted August 19, 1993, effective January 1, 1994; new Comment approved December 22, 1995, effective July 1, 1996; amended July 15, 1999, effective January 1, 2000; renumbered Rule 591 and Comment revised March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; Comment revised January 6, 2014, effective March 1, 2014.
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 January 6, 2014 revision to the Comment cross-referencing Rule 550 published with the Court's Order at 44 Pa.B. 478 (January 25, 2014).
FINAL REPORT1
Amendment to Pa.R.Crim.P. 550
Revision to the Comment to Pa.R.Crim.P. 591
Withdrawal of Guilty Pleas under Rule 550 On January 6, 2014, effective March 1, 2014, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, the Court approved the amendment of Rule 550 (Pleas of Guilty Before Magisterial District Judge in Court Cases) to increase the amount of time available to a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea entered pursuant to Rule 550 and approved the correlative revision to the Comment to Rule 591 (Withdrawal of Plea of Guilty or Nolo Contendere).
As directed by the Court in Commonwealth v. Garcia, 615 Pa. 435, 43 A.3d 470 (Pa. 2012), the Committee examined the question of appeals or other relief from a guilty plea to a third degree misdemeanor entered before a magisterial district judge pursuant to Rule 550 other than the 10-day withdrawal provision in Rule 550(D), particularly the perceived ''inconsistency in the rules of procedure as applied to defendants who plead guilty to a misdemeanor in the district court as compared to defendants who plead to the same charge in the court of common pleas and as applied to defendants who plead in the district court to misdemeanors as compared to defendants who plead in the district court to summary offenses.'' 615 Pa. at 448, 43 A.3d at 478, fn.8.
In Garcia, the defendant sought relief from her entry of a guilty plea to a third degree misdemeanor before a magisterial district judge pursuant to Rule 550 about a month after its entry and well beyond the 10-day withdrawal period provided in Rule 550(D). Had she entered a plea to a summary offense before the magisterial district judge, she would have had a right to appeal for a trial de novo in the court of common pleas. Had she entered a plea to the third degree misdemeanor before a common pleas judge, she could have appealed to the Superior Court. The Commonwealth argued that the Rule 550(D) 10-day withdrawal provision was the exclusive remedy. The question of relief from a Rule 550 guilty plea was not addressed because the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction to review an order from the magisterial district court.
Initially, the Committee examined the circumstances in which relief would be sought for a Rule 550 guilty plea outside of the 10-day withdrawal period. The Committee concluded that the most likely scenario would be for a defendant who enters the plea pro se but subsequently seeks advice of counsel due to learning of some collateral consequence to the entry of the plea, such as ineligibility to enter the military or receive a professional license.
The Committee concluded that a majority of these types of cases could be resolved simply by permitting a defendant 30 days to withdraw the appeal. This would be consistent with the 30-day period for summary appeal and the 30-day common pleas guilty plea appeal period. In other words, the case would stay with the magisterial district court for 30 days after the entry of the plea during which the plea could be withdrawn.
The Committee examined the history of Rule 550 to determine if there were any impediments to increasing the period for withdrawal of the guilty plea. Based on that history, the provisions regarding the time limitation for withdrawal of the guilty plea and the certification of the case to the court of common pleas were entirely products of the rules, implemented as a means of providing structure to statutory changes to magisterial district judges' jurisdiction to permit them to accept guilty pleas in third degree misdemeanor cases. The Committee concluded that the period for withdrawal as well as the period for certifying the case to the court of common pleas could be changed from 10 days to 30 as a rules matter.
This would be the only relief available while the case remained at the magisterial district court. In those exceptional cases in which relief is sought after the 30-day period for withdrawal, further relief would have to be sought in the court of common pleas, likely by a motion to withdraw nunc pro tunc.
Therefore, the amendments provide for a simple change to the language to Rule 550 changing the period for withdrawal of the guilty plea from 10 to 30 days. Additionally, the time at which the case would be certified from the magisterial district court to the court of common pleas has been increased from 10 to 30 days. Comment language describes the reasoning for this change. Finally a cross-reference to Rule 550 has been added to the Comment to Rule 591 (Withdrawal of Plea of Guilty or Nolo Contendere) to clarify that, when a guilty plea to a third degree misdemeanor is entered before a magisterial district judge, the withdrawal of the plea would be made pursuant to Rule 550.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-176. Filed for public inspection January 24, 2014, 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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