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. 24-1109

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

WESTMORELAND COUNTY

Prohibition of Cellular Phones in Courtrooms; No. 3 of 2024

[54 Pa.B. 5091]
[Saturday, August 10, 2024]

Administrative Order of Court

 And Now, this 9th day of July 2024, It Is Hereby Ordered that Westmoreland County Rule of Judicial Administration WJ1910 is hereby adopted. This change is effective 30 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

By the Court

CHRISTOPHER A. FELICIANI, 
President Judge

Rule WJ1910. Prohibition of Cellular Phones in Courtrooms.

 A. No sound recording, photograph, video recording, cellular phone recording, or motion picture of any type may be made or taken of any judicial proceeding, which includes during, immediately before or immediately after said proceeding or in any hearing room or courtroom or in the area immediately surrounding the entrances or exits of such rooms, without the prior permission of the presiding judge, the presiding hearing officer, or the designee of the presiding judge or the presiding hearing officer.

 B. All electronic devices, including, but not limited to, cellular phones, tablets, laptops and cameras, shall be powered off in all hearing rooms, courtrooms and in the area immediately surrounding the entrances and exits of such rooms unless permission to activate such device has been first obtained in advance from the presiding judge, the presiding hearing officer or the designee of the presiding judge or the presiding hearing officer. This directive specifically includes the public, parties, witnesses, support staff of participants, and attorneys.

 C. No sound recording, video recording, photograph, cellular phone recording or motion picture of any party, witness, juror, police officer, judge or judicial officer connected to a pending judicial proceeding may be taken or made in the courthouse or in any building housing a courtroom or hearing room, whether or not the court is actually in session, without the prior permission of the presiding judge, the presiding hearing officer or the designee of the presiding judge or presiding hearing officer.

 D. The transmission in any form by any means of any conversation or testimony taken by any electronic means during or anytime thereafter any judicial proceeding without the prior permission of the presiding judge, the presiding hearing officer or the designee of the presiding judge or presiding hearing officer is strictly prohibited.

 E. Violation of this Order may constitute contempt of court and result in the imposition of a fine or other penalty upon a finding of contempt.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-1109. Filed for public inspection August 9, 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.