THE COURTS
Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY
Administrative Order; No. AD-44-24
[54 Pa.B. 2757]
[Saturday, May 18, 2024]
Administrative Order And Now, this 1st day of May, 2024, it is Ordered and Decreed that this Court adopts the following Rule of Criminal Procedure 117 regarding Magisterial District Court Coverage and Rescinds Administrative Order No. AD-102-2006:
The Schuylkill County Court Administrator is Hereby Ordered to:
1. Distribute one copy of the Rule and Order to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts via email at adminrules@pacourts.us.
2. Distribute two paper copies of the Rule and Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
3. Distribute one copy of the Rule and Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau via email at bulletin@palrb.us in a Microsoft Word format.
4. Publish the local Rule on the Schuylkill County Court's website.
5. Incorporate the local Rule into the set of local Rules on this Court's website within 30 days after the publication of the Rule in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
6. File one copy of the local Rule and Order in the Office of the Clerk of Courts of Schuylkill County.
By the Court
JACQUELINE L. RUSSELL,
President JudgeSch.R.Crim.P. 117. Magisterial District Court Coverage.
Regular Business Hours
A. Each Magisterial District Court Office shall be open for regular business on Mondays through Fridays, excluding holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The times may be modified upon approval of the President Judge to meet the needs of the public and the Court.
B. All court proceedings normally conducted before a Magisterial District Court Judge shall be handled by the appropriate Magisterial District Judge as determined by the Rules regarding venue. The Magisterial District Judge shall be available for all court proceedings without unreasonable delay during normal business hours for the purposes of accepting the posting of bail, performing preliminary arraignments, accepting complaints, issuing search and arrest warrants, conducting summary trials or setting collateral in summary cases following arrests with or without a warrant.
C. In the event a Magisterial District Judge with jurisdiction over a matter is unavailable during regular business hours, the President Judge will transfer the matter to another Magisterial District Judge in the 21st Judicial District.
On-Call Magisterial District Judge
A. The President Judge shall assign, on a rotating basis, Magisterial District Judges to serve on-call duty outside of regular business hours, including on holidays, to fulfill the duties of a Magisterial District Judge within the 21st Judicial District by providing continuous coverage as required by the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, pursuant to a schedule prepared by the Schuylkill County Court Administrator.
B. On days that the Court is open for business, the On-Call Magisterial District Judge shall commence duty at 4:30 p.m. and remain on duty until 8:30 a.m. the following morning. On weekends and holidays the On-Call Magisterial District Judge shall be on duty from 8:30 a.m. on the day that their duty starts until 8:30 a.m. when the Court is next open for regular business.
C. The On-Call Magisterial District Judge shall be available, without unreasonable delay, to issue search warrants pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 203 and arrest warrants pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 513, to conduct summary trials or set collateral in summary cases following arrests with a warrant issued pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 430(A) as provided in Pa.R.Crim.P. 431(B)(3) and following arrests without a warrant as provided in Pa.R.Crim.P. 441(C), to conduct preliminary arraignments whenever a warrant of arrest is executed within the judicial district pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 516, to set bail whenever an out-of-county warrant of arrest is executed within the judicial district pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 517(A), and to accept complaints and conduct preliminary arraignments whenever a case is initiated by arrest without warrant pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 519(A)(1). The foregoing shall be conducted at the On-Call Magisterial District Judge's established office or, in the Judge's discretion, via advanced communication technology. In the event of a technological failure, the proceedings shall be conducted at the Judge's established office.
D. The Magisterial District Judge may, in the Judge's sole discretion, accept bail deposits outside of normal business hours. However, the posting of bail shall be accepted outside of normal business hours and on holidays at the Schuylkill County Prison. The Warden, or in his absence the Warden's designee in charge, shall be authorized to accept bail deposits, as provided in Pa.R.Crim.P. 117, have the defendant sign the bail bond, release the defendant upon execution of the bail bond, and deliver the bail deposit and bail bond to the Clerk of Courts promptly upon the opening of the courthouse the next business day. Bail deposits after normal business hours and on holidays must be by cash, money order, or by bail bond posted by a professional bail bondsman registered with Schuylkill County. Persons desiring to post bail after normal business hours or on holidays shall contact the Schuylkill County Prison at 570-628-1450 to make arrangements to do so. All parties authorized to accept bail shall comply with the provisions of and be subject to the limitations specified in the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Effective Date.
This Rule is effective 60 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-714. Filed for public inspection May 17, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]
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