THE COURTS
Title 234--RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
[234 PA. CODE CH. 2]
Order Amending Rules 221 and 222; No. 287 Criminal Procedural Rules; Doc. No. 2
[32 Pa.B. 5406] The Criminal Procedural Rules Committee has prepared a Final Report explaining the amendments to Rules of Criminal Procedure 221 (Summoning Investigating Grand Jurors) and 222 (Composition and Organization of the Investigating Grand Jury) and highlighting the Committee's considerations in formulating the changes. The amendments align these rules with the recent changes to 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) concerning the number of alternate grand jurors. The Final Report follows the Court's Order.
Order Per Curiam:
Now, this 17th day of October, 2002, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 103(a)(3) in the interests of justice, and a Final Report to be published with this Order:
It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rules of Criminal Procedure 221 and 222 are amended in the following form.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 103(b), and shall be effective January 1, 2003.
Annex A
TITLE 234. RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 2. INVESTIGATIONS
PART B(1). Investigating Grand Juries Rule 221. Summoning Investigating Grand Jurors.
(A) After issuing an order summoning an investigating grand jury, the court shall order the officials designated by law to summon prospective jurors to summon not less than [30] 38 persons eligible by law to serve as grand jurors.
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Comment See 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 4521--4524 for the Judicial Code provisions on the selection of prospective jurors.
The number of persons initially summoned for an investigating grand jury has been fixed at no less than [30] 38 to accommodate the requirements for a maximum of [7] 15 alternates as specified in Rule 222. See also 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) (investigating grand jury shall have a minimum of 7 and not more than 15 alternates).
[See 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 4521--4524 for the Judicial Code provisions on the selection of prospective jurors.]
Official Note: Rule 252 adopted June 26, 1978, effective January 9, 1979; amended January 28, 1983, effective July 1, 1983; amended August 12, 1993, effective September 1, 1993; renumbered Rule 221 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; amended October 17, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
* * * * * Final Report explaining the October 17, 2002 amendments concerning the number of alternate grand juror published with the Court's Order at 32 Pa.B. 5407 (November 2, 2002).
Rule 222. Composition and Organization of the investigating Grand Jury.
(A) There shall be impaneled initially to serve on an investigating grand jury 23 legally qualified jurors [plus 7] and a minimum of 7 and not more than 15 legally qualified alternates. During its term, the investigating grand jury shall consist, as provided hereinafter, of not less than 15 nor more than 23 legally qualified jurors, and the remaining alternates.
(B) When an investigating grand jury is to be impaneled and more than 30 persons attend for service and qualify, the judge in charge of the grand jury shall excuse a sufficient number of persons to reduce the panel to not more than 23 persons plus the minimum of 7 but not more than 15 alternates. After prospective grand jurors have been excused for cause, the reduction to the minimum of 30 or maximum of 38 shall take place by random drawing in the following manner: 30 to 38 jurors shall be selected by random drawing, of which the first 23 jurors so selected shall be designated permanent grand jurors and the next 7 to 15 jurors shall be designated alternate jurors 1, 2, 3, and so on to a maximum of 15 [through 7].
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Comment The initial number of jurors impaneled should be at least 30, but no more than 38, to accommodate the minimum of 7 and maximum of 15 alternate jurors. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) (investigating grand jury shall have a minimum of 7 and not more than 15 alternates).
The alternate jurors are impaneled with the permanent grand jurors and hear all testimony, but are excluded from taking part in or from being present at deliberations, votes, or preparation of presentments or reports.
If, prior to the impaneling of the investigating grand jury, the number of prospective grand jurors initially summoned falls below [30] the minimum needed to seat permanent and alternate grand jurors by reason of excuses for cause, additional prospective grand jurors are to be summoned in the manner provided in these rules. See Rule 221. Any grand jurors already selected to serve on the investigating grand jury must remain.
* * * * * Official Note: Rule 253 adopted June 26, 1978, effective January 9, 1979; amended October 22, 1981, effective January 1, 1982; amended August 12, 1993, effective September 1, 1993; renumbered Rule 222 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; amended October 17, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
* * * * * Final Report explaining the October 17, 2002 amendments concerning the number of alternate grand jurors published with the Court's Order at 32 Pa.B. 5407 (November 2, 2002).
FINAL REPORT 1
Amendments to Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 221 and 222
Number of Alternate Grand Jurors On October 17, 2002, effective January 1, 2003, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, the Court amended Rules of Criminal Procedure 221 (Summoning Investigating Grand Jurors) and 222 (Composition and Organization of the Investigating Grand Jury), aligning these rules with the recent changes to 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) concerning the number of alternate jurors.
I. BACKGROUND
In 2000, 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) was amended changing the number of alternate jurors from ''seven'' to ''a minimum of seven and not more than 15.'' This change created an inconsistency between the statute and Rule 222. To avoid possible confusion that the inconsistency could generate, and because there has been an interplay between the investigating grand jury rules and the statutory provisions for the investigating grand jury since the rules' inception in 1978,2 the Committee agreed changes comparable to those made to 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) were necessary for Rule 222.
In view of this statutory and rule interplay, and agreeing there did not appear to be any reason to deviate from the number of alternate grand jurors established in 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a), the Committee proposed that Rules 221 and 222 be amended to bring these rules in line with the recent changes to 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) concerning the number of alternate jurors.
II. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED RULE CHANGES
A. Rule 221
In the text of Rule 221(A) and the Comment, the number ''30'' has been changed to ''38,'' and in the Comment, the reference to ''7'' has been changed to ''a maximum of 15.'' These changes acknowledge the practicalities of the investigating grand jury selection process. It is more efficient and promotes judicial economy if the provisions of Rule 221 accommodate the statutory requirements of 23 regular jurors and ''not more than 15 alternates,'' than merely providing for the minimum number of alternates permitted by statute. A cross-reference to 42 Pa.C.S. § 4545(a) has been added to this paragraph of the Rule 221 Comment.
Finally, in a ''housekeeping'' measure, the current last paragraph of the Rule 221 Comment has been move to be the first paragraph, so the general cross-reference concerning the Judicial Code's provisions on the selection of prospective jurors precedes the paragraph discussing specifics about Rule 221.
B. Rule 222
Rule 222(A) and (B) has been amended by the addition of the statutory language ''minimum of 7 but not more than 15.'' In addition, to alert the supervising judge to the discretion afforded him or her by the statute concerning the number of alternate jurors, paragraph (B) has been amended to conform the numbers with the statute's ''minimum'' and ''maximum'' provisions. Similarly, the first paragraph of the Rule 222 Comment has been revised to conform with the statutory changes, and a cross-reference to the statute has been added.
Finally, the third paragraph of the Comment has been revised by the deletion of ''of 30'' and the addition of ''needed to seat permanent and alternate grand jurors,'' because under the new statutory scheme, the supervising judge will establish whether the minimum number of prospective grand jurors initially summoned is a minimum of 30 or some other number up to 38.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-1942. Filed for public inspection November 1, 2002, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 The Committee's Final Reports should not be confused with the official Committee Comments to the rules. Also note that the Supreme Court does not adopt the Committee's Comments or the contents of the Committee's explanatory Final Reports.
2 The Committee's Report explaining the first set of Investigating Grand Jury Rules was published at 8 Pa.B. 1517 (6/3/78), and the Court's Order adopting these new rules was published at 8 Pa.B. 2048 (7/22/78). Subsequently, because the Legislature was working on the Investigating Grand Jury Act, the Court vacated the Order's effective date. In November 1978, the Investigating Grand Jury Act became effective, and the Committee reviewed the Act and the rules and proposed some changes to the rules to conform them with the Act. On January 9, 1979, the Court vacated and superseded the November 1978 Order and promulgated the rules as recommended by the Committee. Subsequently, when there have been statutory changes that implicate provisions of the rules, the Committee has recommended rule changes to the Court, explaining the rule changes as being necessary to ''maintain[ing] consistency between the Act and the Rules'' and ''conform the language of the rules to that of the Investigating Grand Jury Act.'' See, e.g., 11 Pa.B. 1573 (5/9/81).
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