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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 15-1316

THE COURTS

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Administrative Order 2015-5 Custody of Exhibits; C-48CV2015-004903

[45 Pa.B. 3826]
[Saturday, July 18, 2015]

Order of Court

 And Now, this 3rd day of June, 2015, Northampton County Court of Common Pleas Administrative Order 1997-3—Custody of Exhibits is vacated.

 The responsibility for the custody of exhibits entered into the record in all matters of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County (Criminal Division, Civil Division, Orphans' Court, Juvenile Court and Domestic Relations) shall now be as follows:

I. Criminal Division.

 A. All documentation, photographs and/or digital data storage devices (such as CD and flash drives) which are received in evidence during a hearing or trial of any cause shall be retained during the hearing or trial by the Official Court Reporter. During the hearing or trial, the Official Court Reporter shall be responsible for the custody and safekeeping of all documentation and photographic exhibits, absent a specific directive from the Court. At the conclusion of the hearing or trial, the Official Court Reporter shall be charged with delivering those exhibits to the Clerk of Criminal Court for retention until further Order of Court. With regard to exhibits which contain sensitive or proprietary information, upon application to the Court, the Presiding Judge, upon the agreement of the parties or at the discretion of the Judge, may enter an Order of Court or directive on the record and in the official transcript permitting the party who offered the exhibit to retain possession of an exhibit.

 B. All exhibits in the nature of firearms, knives, other weapons, narcotics, controlled substances, other contraband and physical objects entered into the record by the Commonwealth which have been admitted into evidence shall be marked on the evidentiary manifest maintained by the Official Court Reporter, but shall remain in the physical possession of the Commonwealth and/or police prosecutor for safekeeping during recess and at the conclusion of the matter. Thereafter, the retention of such evidence shall remain with the Commonwealth and/or the police prosecutor absent the agreement of the parties or other directive of the Court which must be placed into the official record.

 C. In all criminal matters in which documents, photographs, digital data storage devices and/or other physical exhibits shall be retained for transmittal with the official record for appellate review, the Clerk of Criminal Court shall segregate and store such evidence for transmittal with the official file.

 D. All court exhibits maintained by the Clerk of Criminal Court shall be sealed and unavailable for public inspection, absent an Order of Court permitting inspection. If a media representative or member of the public desires to inspect or photocopy any court exhibit(s) retained by the Clerk of Criminal Court, the individual shall file a petition with the Presiding Judge or, if the Presiding Judge is not available, with the President Judge, requesting permission to inspect the exhibit(s). The petition shall identify the exhibits sought to be inspected or photocopied, the case to which they are related, and the petitioner's relationship, if any, to the matter in controversy. Upon receipt of the petition, the Presiding Judge/ President Judge shall enter an Order granting the petition, denying the petition, or placing the matter on a Miscellaneous Hearing List for disposition after notice to the Commonwealth, through the Office of the District Attorney of Northampton County (or other prosecuting agency), record counsel for the Defendant and the Defendant, with notice of the hearing.

 E. The official criminal court file, absent exhibits, shall be available for public inspection and available to photocopy without restriction.

II. Civil Division.

 A. In civil cases, hearing and trial exhibits shall be retained by the Official Court Reporter throughout the hearing or trial, absent other directive from the Court. At the conclusion of the proceeding, the court exhibits shall be filed and stored with the Clerk of Court until final resolution by the appellate courts and/or the time-frame for perfecting an appeal has expired. If an appeal has been taken, the exhibits shall be retained until disposition of the appeal. Once the resolution becomes a final order, the party who offered the exhibits may reclaim them for a period of sixty (60) days, after which the Clerk of Court shall petition the Court for an Order for the destruction or other disposition of said exhibits and place the matter onto a Miscellaneous Hearing List, with notice to the parties.

 B. At the conclusion of the hearing or trial, upon the agreement of the parties, the Presiding Judge shall permit the party who offered the exhibits the ability to retain the exhibits. Said agreement should be entered as a written stipulation/order or placed in the official trial transcript.

 C. This Administrative Order in no way impacts the administration of exhibits which have been sealed by the Court and retained by the Prothonotary due to their sensitive and confidential nature, such as medical records and psychological records. If a media representative or member of the public desires to inspect or photocopy such exhibits, the individual shall file a petition with the Presiding Judge or, if the Presiding Judge is not available, with the President Judge, requesting permission to inspect the exhibit(s). The petition shall specifically identify the exhibits sought to be inspected or photocopied, the case to which they are related, and the petitioner's relationship, if any, to the matter in controversy. Upon receipt of the petition, the Presiding Judge/ President Judge shall enter an Order granting the petition, denying the petition, or placing the matter on a Miscellaneous Hearing List for disposition after notice to all record parties.

III. Orphans' Court.

 A. In juvenile delinquency and dependency cases, all files and exhibits maintained by Orphans' Court shall remain sealed and unavailable for public inspection, absent judicial approval.

 B. In Orphans' Court matters involving adoption, guardianship, minors and incompetency, because of the sensitive and confidential nature of these matters, all exhibits retained by the Clerk of Orphans' Court shall remain sealed and unavailable for review by the public. In such matters, if a media representative or member of the public desires to inspect or photocopy exhibits retained by the Orphans' Court, the individual shall file a petition with the Presiding Judge or, if the Presiding Judge is not available, with the President Judge, requesting permission to inspect the exhibit(s). The petition shall specifically identify the exhibits sought to be inspected or photocopied, the case to which they are related, and the petitioner's relationship, if any, to the matter in controversy. Upon receipt of the petition, the Presiding Judge/ President Judge shall enter an Order granting the petition, denying the petition, or placing the matter on a Miscellaneous Hearing List for disposition after notice to all record parties.

 C. All estate and tax filings and related exhibits shall be available for inspection and photocopying as a public record, absent directive by the Court.

IV. Domestic Relations Section.

 A. In Domestic Relations cases, all exhibits entered before the Domestic Relations Hearing Officer, on de novo appeal, or in non-compliance court, shall be placed in the official file for retention by the Domestic Relations Section. Because of sensitive financial, personal and other confidential information contained in domestic relations matters, all files and exhibits shall remain sealed and unavailable for public inspection. If a media representative or member of the public desires to inspect or photocopy a file or exhibit(s) retained by the Domestic Relations Section, the individual shall file a petition with the Director of the Domestic Relations Section, requesting permission to inspect the file and/or exhibit(s). The petition shall specifically identify the exhibits sought to be inspected or photocopied, the case to which they are related, and the petitioner's relationship, if any, to the matter in controversy. Upon receipt of the petition, the Director of the Domestic Relations Section shall confer with the Administrative Judge of the Domestic Relations Section, who shall enter an Order granting the petition, denying the petition, or placing the matter on a Miscellaneous Hearing List for disposition after notice to all record parties.

 B. Once the minor children, subject of the support order, have been emancipated and/or the support order has been terminated and the case closed, the Domestic Relations Section shall notify the party offering the exhibits that said exhibit shall be destroyed within thirty days should the party fail to appear at the Domestic Relations Office to reclaim any exhibit. The Domestic Relations Section does not need to apply to the President Judge and/or the Presiding Judge prior to destruction of exhibits consistent with this Administrative Order.

By the Court

STEPHEN G. BARATTA, 
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-1316. Filed for public inspection July 17, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]


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