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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 24-329

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

CENTRE COUNTY

Local Rules 5102 and 5103 Custody of Exhibits in Court Proceedings; No. MD-332-2024; 2024-CM-0010

[54 Pa.B. 1303]
[Saturday, March 16, 2024]

Order

 And Now this 1st day of March 2024, it is hereby Ordered that, effective April 1, 2024, a Centre County Local Rule is hereby established to implement Local Rule 5102-5103 regarding the Custody of Exhibits in Court Proceedings.

 Pursuant to Pennsylvania Rules of Judicial Administration 103(d) and after review and subsequent approval from the Supreme Court Rules Committee,

 The Centre County District Court Administrator is Directed as follows:

 (1) File one (1) copy of the Administrative Order with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

 (2) File one (1) copy with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 (3) One (1) copy shall be sent to the Centre County Law Library and the editor of the Centre County Legal Journal.

 (4) Publish a copy of the Administrative Order on the website of Centre County.

 (5) Thereafter, compile the Administrative Order within the complete set of local rules no later than thirty (30) days following the publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 It is further Ordered that a copy shall be kept continuously available for public inspection and copying in the Office of the Prothonotary of Centre County.

BY THE COURT:

JONATHAN D. GRINE, 
President Judge

Local Rule 5102-5103
Custody of Exhibits in Court Proceedings.

Rule 5102. Custody of Exhibits General Provisions.

 A. The court reporter or court recorder shall be designated as the ''Custodian,'' as defined by Pa.R.J.A. 5101(a)(2), for all documentary exhibits, photographs, and photographs of non-documentary exhibits admitted or rejected during a court proceeding.

 (1) If only one custodian is involved with a proceeding, they shall file with the Centre County Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts office all admitted or rejected exhibits and an index of the exhibits within 5 business days of the conclusion of the proceeding.

 (2) If multiple custodians are involved with a proceeding, the first custodian shall provide the subsequent custodian (and so on, if more than two custodians) with the admitted or rejected exhibits and index of exhibits. The custodian at the conclusion of the proceeding shall file with the Centre County Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts office all admitted or rejected exhibits and an index of the exhibits within 5 business days of the conclusion of the proceeding.

Rule 5103. Custody of Exhibits. Special Provisions.

 A. The proponent shall retain custody of admitted or rejected non-documentary exhibits (including, but not limited to weapons, cash, other items of value, drugs, or other dangerous materials) and bulky, oversized, or otherwise physically impractical exhibits at all times during and after a court proceeding.

 (1) All non-documentary exhibits must be photographed by the proponent, converted to a letter sized document (8 1/2 × 11 inches), and appropriately marked and produced during the court proceeding for inclusion in the documentary record.

 (2) Unless otherwise provided by the presiding judge, at the conclusion of the court proceeding, non-documentary evidence shall be returned to the proponent for safekeeping as required by any applicable retention schedule, statute, rule, regulation, or policy, or until further order of court.

 (3) Unless otherwise ordered, the proponent or filing office shall maintain non-documentary exhibits for a minimum of following time periods:

 a. Non-criminal matters. Retain exhibits until the later of the expiration of the appeal period or final disposition of the appeal if one is taken.

 b. Criminal matters. Retain exhibits pursuant to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts Record Retention and Disposition Schedule with Guidelines.

 (4) Any digital exhibit that cannot be printed (i.e., audio or video recording) shall be entered into the record on a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive or other court approved format. If one party has multiple digital exhibits, they may be submitted together on one USB flash drive or other court approved format.

 (5) Any exhibit containing confidential information or confidential documents as defined in the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (''Policy'') shall include a Confidential Information Form or Confidential Document Form in compliance with the Policy.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-329. Filed for public inspection March 15, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]


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