Pennsylvania Code
Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

• No statutes or acts will be found at this website.

The Pennsylvania Bulletin website includes the following: Rulemakings by State agencies; Proposed Rulemakings by State agencies; State agency notices; the Governor’s Proclamations and Executive Orders; Actions by the General Assembly; and Statewide and local court rules.

PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 24-708

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

DAUPHIN COUNTY

Administrative Procedures for Clerk of Courts; No. 0014-12-MD-2024; AO. 15-2024

[54 Pa.B. 2753]
[Saturday, May 18, 2024]

Administrative Order

 And Now, this 1st day of May, 2024, the Court having determined that action is necessary to safeguard the filing of legal papers and other critical functions related to the administration of justice and due process and noting the current deficiencies and unacceptable backlog in filing, docketing, scanning, and processing of Orders and documents within the Clerk of Courts Office, and also based upon the information gathered at an evidentiary hearing held on April 1, 2024, including the assurances of the Clerk of Courts that the factors causing the aforementioned deficiencies and backlog were substantially rectified and that the office had cleared those backlogs and was up to date with its filing obligations, it is hereby Ordered, Adjudged, and Decreed that the filing office of the Clerk of Courts shall follow the procedures set forth as follows:

Hours of Operation

 All filing offices shall be open to the public and judiciary staff from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily Monday through Friday, excepting holidays and other judicially sanctioned closures. Filing offices may be open longer than the established hours of operation. The Court is ''always open for the transaction of judicial business,'' and a filing office may be requested to stay open outside of the established hours of operation if the Court remains in session or requires the processing of judicial business. See 42. Pa.Con.Stat.Ann § 324. This includes the answering of all telephone inquiries throughout the times of public operation.

Bench Warrant Orders

 All Orders directing the issuance of a Bench Warrant, including the issuance of the Bench Warrant or the lifting of a Bench Warrant, shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed on the same business day if received by 4:00 p.m. by the Clerk of Courts. If the Bench Warrant is filed after 4:00 p.m., it shall be processed by noon for the next business. Excluded from said calculation shall be all weekends and holidays.

Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) Orders and Dispositions

 All ARD orders or other dispositions of ARD cases shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within seventy-two (72) hours of the date of the issuance of the Order or disposition.

Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Orders and Dispositions

 All DUI orders or other dispositions of Driving Under the Influence cases shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within twenty-four (24) hours of the date of the issuance of the Order or disposition. Forms required for submission to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are to be processed in a timely fashion.

Verdicts

 All verdicts, whether entered following a bench or jury trial, shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed within twenty-four (24) hours from the time of receipt by the Prothonotary.

State Sentencing Orders

 All orders or dispositions that result in a defendant being sentenced to a period of state incarceration shall be filed immediately upon presentation to the Clerk of Courts with three certified copies being immediately sent to the Sheriff's Department. Within forty-eight (48) hours from the time of delivery to the Clerk of Courts of the Order or other disposition, said document shall be docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed including but not limited to the entry of all information necessary for the printing of a complete DC-300B such that the individual State packets necessary for transport of the Defendant may be completed in a timely manner.

Sentencing Orders and Dispositions

 All sentencing orders and dispositions, other than state sentencing orders noted above, shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within twenty-four (24) hours from the time of receipt by the Clerk of Courts.

Juvenile Orders and Dispositions

 All juvenile orders and dispositions shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within twenty-four (24) hours from the time of receipt by the Clerk of Courts. All juvenile orders, including orders executed electronically (CPCMS), shall be properly filed in the appropriate physical file within five (5) business days.

Dependency Orders and Dispositions

 All dependency orders and disposition shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within twenty-four (24) hours from the time of receipt by the Clerk of Courts. All dependency orders, including orders executed electronically (CPCMS), shall be properly filed in the appropriate physical file within five (5) business days.

General Court Orders, Inmate Mail, and Indirect Criminal Contempt (ICC) Orders

 All general court orders and dispositions, including ICC orders, shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within twenty-four (24) hours from the time of receipt by the Clerk of Courts. Inmate mail shall be appropriately processed, including docketing and/or distribution to the Court and Counsel, within twenty-four (24) hours from the time of receipt.

Summary Appeal Orders and Dispositions

 All Notices of Appeal from summary convictions shall be filed, docketed, scanned, fully processed, and distributed within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt by the Clerk of Courts. All summary appeal Orders and dispositions shall be filed docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within forty-eight (48) hours from the time of receipt by the Clerk of Courts. Forms required for submission to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are to be processed in a timely fashion.

Bail and Pretrial Services Order

 Bail Orders shall be filed, docketed, scanned, fully processed and distributed on the same day as received by the Clerk of Courts unless received after 4:00 p.m. In that event, bail Orders shall be processed and distributed by noon the following business day. If applicable, distribution of such Orders shall include the Dauphin County Prison and/or the Magisterial District Court by facsimile or email.

Notices of Appeal from Court of Common Pleas and Related Documents

 All Notices of Appeal and any appeal-related documents shall be filed, docketed, scanned, fully processed and distributed to the appropriate appellate court within twenty-four (24) hours. The Clerk of Courts shall advise the appropriate Judge of the filing of a Notice of Appeal. The Clerk of Courts shall provide to the appropriate judge a copy of all communications and Orders received by the Clerk of Courts from any appellate court. The Clerk of Courts shall coordinate the preparation of the record for appeal with the appropriate judge.

 Further, when directed by either a Pennsylvania appellate court, or a federal court, the Clerk of Courts shall prepare, copy, and transmit the requested record of any Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas case to the appropriate appellate court or federal court.

Probation and Parole Orders and Other Probation Office Documents

 All probation and parole Orders and other probation office documents shall be filed, docketed, scanned, and fully processed and distributed within forty-eight (48) hours from the time of receipt by the Clerk of Courts.

Distribution of Filings

 All filings accepted by the Clerk of Courts shall be distributed to parties and any interested entities or persons as noted by the filing party or entity. Those filings include, but are not limited to, transport Orders, transcript requests forms, Omnibus Pretrial Motions, motions in limine, discovery requests, reciprocal discovery requests, and discovery inventories.

Commitments to Dauphin County Prison or Other Correctional Facility

 All Orders providing for a commitment to Dauphin County Prison, or another correctional facility, must be filed, docketed, scanned, and distributed to the appropriate facility within forty-eight (48) hours.

 However, any Order for immediate release from incarceration, or Orders imposing a sentence of probation, setting or modifying bail, entering a nolle prosequi, or waiving extradition for an incarcerated individual must be docketed, scanned, and distributed on the same day it is received unless received after 4:00 p.m. In that event, all processing must be completed by noon on the following business day.

Statistical Reporting

 All AOPC statistical docket corrections or reporting shall be fully processed and completed by all filing offices as requested by Court Administration. The compilation of statistical information for reporting to the AOPC is the responsibility of Court Administration.

Enforcement

 The elected Clerk of Courts and their staff shall comply with the provisions of this Administrative Order. The Court may initiate contempt proceedings if there is a failure to adhere to the requirements set forth in this Administrative Order. Questions concerning a provision of the Administrative Order shall be directed to the Court Administrator, who is responsible for bringing those matters needing clarification or other action to the attention of the President Judge and other appropriate judges. Any other Order that conflicts or is otherwise inconsistent with this Administrative Order is hereby Rescinded, except those issued pursuant to a locally declared judicial emergency.

 It is further Ordered that the Court Administrator shall cause a copy of this Order to be published in the Dauphin County Reporter, the official legal publication of Dauphin County, at the expense of the County of Dauphin, and in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

By the Court

SCOTT ARTHUR EVANS, 
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-708. Filed for public inspection May 17, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]


No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.