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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 19-746

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

BUTLER COUNTY

Administrative Order; CP-10-A.D. No. 1-2019

[49 Pa.B. 2488]
[Saturday, May 18, 2019]

Order of Court

 And Now, this 25th day of April, 2019, pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 632, the Court hereby adopts the following method for distribution, maintenance, and disposition of confidential juror information questionnaires in criminal proceedings:

 1) The Court Administrator, or her designee, shall have the juror questionnaires in the form set forth in Pa.R.Crim.P. 632 printed for mailing or for distribution on jury selection day to all prospective criminal court jurors. Following completion of the questionnaires, Court personnel will place the questionnaires in alphabetical order and make the appropriate number of copies for the trial judge, counsel for the defendant(s), and counsel for the Commonwealth. The original and all copies of the ques-tionnaires shall be given to the Court Administrator, or a member of her staff, for distribution only to the trial judge, the attorneys, and the Defendant for voir dire. Court personnel assigned to jury selection, including the court reporter, the trial judge's judicial law clerk, and tipstaff, may handle and view the questionnaires in facilitating the jury selection process. Any persons assisting the attorneys in jury selection, such as a member of the trial team or a consultant hired to assist in jury selection, may view and handle the questionnaires with the permission of the trial judge. The information contained in the questionnaires shall remain confidential. The questionnaires shall not be removed from the jury selection area except by the Court Administrator, or a member of her staff, or the Court's staff assigned to jury selection in facilitating the jury selection process, or by specific direction of the Court. The questionnaires, when not in the jury selection area or in transit between the jury selection area and the courtroom in which voir dire is to be conducted, shall be maintained by the Court Administrator, or a member of her staff, in a place of safe-keeping.

 2) The original questionnaire and any copies shall not constitute a public record. The information provided by the prospective jurors on the questionnaires shall be confidential and limited to use for the purpose of jury selection only. Unless the trial judge otherwise orders, this information shall only be made available to the trial judge, the defendant(s), the attorneys for the defendant(s), the attorney for the Commonwealth, and Court personnel assigned to the jury selection process.

 3) Upon the completion of jury selection, the original and all copies of the questionnaires of all impaneled jurors shall be returned to the trial judge or the Court Administrator, or a member of her staff. The Court Administrator, or a member of her staff, shall take possession of the original and all copies of the questionnaires of all impaneled jurors from the trial judge following the jury selection process.

 4) Following jury selection, the original questionnaires of all impaneled jurors, including those questioned and excused, shall be retained in a sealed envelope by the Court Administrator, or a member of her staff, subject to the confidentiality requirements of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, and shall be destroyed upon completion of the jurors' service, unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge. Following jury selection, all copies of the questionnaires shall be destroyed unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge at the request of the defendant(s), the attorney(s) for the defendant(s), or the attorney for the Commonwealth. In the event that a juror impaneled for voir dire is not selected, but is impaneled for voir dire in an additional case, copies of that juror's questionnaire may be substituted for the second or any additional case.

 5) The original and all copies of questionnaires of all prospective jurors not impaneled or not selected for any trial shall be destroyed upon completion of the jurors' service.

 6) Pursuant to this Order of Court, questionnaires shall be destroyed by shredding. The Court Administrator, or a member of her staff, shall shred the questionnaires as provided in this Order of Court and shall certify the same to the Clerk of Courts. The Clerk of Courts shall then certify in writing and place with each venire the disposition of the questionnaires.

By the Court

WILLIAM R. SHAFFER, 
Administrative Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 19-746. Filed for public inspection May 17, 2019, 9:00 a.m.]


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