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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 24-1076

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Administrative Order 2024-13; Electronic Filing in Criminal Dockets; No.: CP-48-AD-197-2024

[54 Pa.B. 4435]
[Saturday, August 3, 2024]

Administrative Order

 And Now, this 19th day of July, 2024, it is Ordered and Decreed that the Third Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby adopts local rule N576.1, following hereto, employing electronic filing in Northampton County's criminal dockets.

 It is further Directed that the Court Administrator of Northampton County shall comply with all publishing requirements set forth in Pa.R.J.A. 103(c)(5)-(6), such as: filing two (2) certified copies of this Order with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin; filing one (1) certified copy of the Order with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts; publishing a copy of this Order on the Court's website; and incorporating these procedures into the complete set of Northampton County Local Rules no later than thirty (30) days following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

 This local rule shall become effective on September 3, 2024, after no less than thirty (30) days of publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

By the Court

CRAIG A. DALLY, 
President Judge

ELECTRONIC FILING IN CRIMINAL DOCKETS

N576.1. Electronic Filing in Criminal Dockets.

 (A) Per Pa.R.Crim.P. 576.1, the Northampton County Clerk of Courts Office and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) have agreed upon a plan to implement PACFile in Northampton County for certain criminal filings. Electronic filing for criminal matters is permissive and not mandatory.

 (1) PACFile may be located on Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System Web Portal at: http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/

 (B) As used in this rule, the following words shall have the following definitions:

 (1) ''electronic filing,'' the electronic submission of legal papers by means other than facsimile transmission and the acceptance of the document by the clerk of courts;

 (2) ''filing party,'' an attorney, defendant, or other person who files a legal paper by means of electronic filing;

 (3) ''legal paper,'' a pleading or other submission to the court, including motions, answers, notices, or other documents, of which filing is required or permitted, including orders, copies of exhibits, and attachments. The following documents are excluded from the definition of ''legal paper'' and are therefore prohibited from being filed electronically:

 (a) applications for search warrants,

 (b) applications for arrest warrants,

 (c) any grand jury materials, except the indicting grand jury indictment or the investigating grand jury presentment,

 (d) submissions filed ex parte as authorized by law,

 (e) submissions filed or authorized to be filed under seal,

 

 (f) exhibits offered into evidence, whether or not admitted, in a court proceedings;

 (4) ''original document,'' a legal paper filed electronically shall be deemed the original document, but copies of exhibits electronically filed do not constitute the original of the exhibit for evidentiary purposes;

 (5) ''the system,'' the PACFile electronic filing system, developed and administered by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, is the exclusive system for electronic filing.

 (C) Attorneys or self-represented parties who wish to file legal papers electronically must establish a PACFile account using the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania Web Portal. Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 576.1(D)(2), the establishment of a PACFile account constitutes consent to participate in electronic filing, which includes consenting to accepting electronic service of all legal papers filed using PACFile.

 (D) Filing Fees.

 (1) Applicable filing fees for electronically filed legal papers shall be paid electronically to the Clerk of Courts simultaneously with the filing.

 (2) A party who was granted in forma pauperis status shall not pay filing fees to the Clerk of Courts.

 (E) All filings shall comply with the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.

 (F) Service of Legal Papers.

 (1) Attorneys or self-represented parties who do not participate in the system, or who are unable to electronically file or accept service of electronically filed legal papers, or who cannot access the system, shall be allowed to file and serve legal papers in a physical paper format.

 (2) Service of legal papers on any attorney or party who has not created a PACFile account, as provided in subsection (C), must be made in accordance with Pa.R.Crim.P. 114(B) and 576(b)

 (3) Notification sent by the system to an attorney or defendant who has created a PACFile account, pursuant to subsection (C), will satisfy the service requirements of Pa.R.Crim.P. 114(B) and 576(b).

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-1076. Filed for public inspection August 2, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]


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