THE COURTS
[234 PA. CODE CH. 5]
Order Amending Rules 514 and 517; No. 332 Criminal Procedural Rules; Doc. No. 2
[35 Pa.B. 6089] The Criminal Procedural Rules Committee has prepared a Final Report explaining the October 19, 2005 changes to Rules of Criminal Procedure 514 and 517. The changes, which will be effective February 1, 2006, eliminate the term ''alias warrants'' from the rules as archaic, and replace the term in Rule 514 with a provision for the reissuance of a warrant and in Rule 517 with a provision for the issuance of a bench warrant. The Final Report follows the Court's Order.
Order Per Curiam:
Now, this 19th day of October, 2005, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been published before adoption at 35 Pa.B. 1558 (March 5, 2005), 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 514 and 517 are amended in the following form.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 103(b), and shall be effective February 1, 2006.
Annex A
TITLE 234. RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 5. PRETRIAL PROCEDURES IN
COURT CASES
PART B(3). Arrest Procedures in Court Cases
(a) Arrest Warrants Rule 514. Duplicate and [Alias] Reissued Warrants of Arrest.
* * * * * (B) After service and execution of an original or duplicate warrant, [an alias warrant may be issued] the issuing authority may reissue the warrant if the purpose for which the original or duplicate has been issued has not been accomplished.
Comment This rule permits the use of advanced communication technology for the issuance of duplicate and [alias] reissued arrest warrants.
Under this rule, warrant information transmitted by using advanced communication technology has the same force and effect as a duplicate or [alias] reissued arrest warrant. This rule does not require that the transmitted warrant information be an exact copy of the original warrant for purposes of execution under Rule 515. Nothing in this rule, however, is intended to curtail the Rule 540(C) requirement that the issuing authority provide the defendant with an exact copy of the warrant at the preliminary arraignment. See Rule 513 (Requirements for Issuance).
This rule originally used the term ''alias warrant'' to describe the reissuance of a warrant that has been served and executed but has not accomplished its original purpose. The term ''alias warrant'' is archaic and its meaning obscure, leading to potential confusion. With the 2005 amendments, the terminology of the rule has been simplified by deleting ''alias warrant'' and replacing it with ''reissue,'' thereby retaining the underlying practice previously described by the term ''alias warrant.''
Official Note: Original Rule 113 adopted June 30, 1964, effective January 1, 1965; suspended January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970. New Rule 113 adopted January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970; renumbered Rule 121 September 18, 1973, effective January 1, 1974; amended August 9, 1994, effective January 1, 1995; renumbered Rule 514 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; Comment revised May 10, 2002, effective September 1, 2002; amended October 19, 2005, effective February 1, 2006.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
* * * * * Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court's Order at 30 Pa.B. [1477] 1478 (March 18, 2000).
* * * * * Final Report explaining the October 19, 2005 amendments to paragraph (B) deleting ''alias warrant'' published with the Court's Order at 35 Pa.B. 6090 (November 5, 2005).
Rule 517. Procedure in Court Cases When Warrant of Arrest is Executed Outside Judicial District of Issuance.
* * * * * (E) When a defendant who has posted bail and been released from custody before preliminary arraignment thereafter fails to appear at the time fixed, the proper issuing authority in the judicial district where the warrant was issued shall forthwith cause the bail to be forfeited according to law, and issue [an alias warrant of arrest] a bench warrant. If the defendant is thereafter arrested outside the judicial district where the [alias] bench warrant was issued, the defendant shall not be entitled to post bail in the judicial district where arrested, but shall be taken as soon as practicable to the judicial district where the [alias] bench warrant was issued for preliminary arraignment by the proper issuing authority.
* * * * *
Comment * * * * * Section 8953 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8953, provides for the execution of warrants of arrest beyond the territorial limits of the police officer's primary jurisdiction. See also Commonwealth v. Mason, 507 Pa. 396, 490 A.2d 421 ([Pa.] 1985).
Paragraph (E) originally used the term ''alias warrant'' to describe the type of warrant issued when a defendant is arrested outside the judicial district of issuance, is released on bond by a magisterial district judge in the judicial district of arrest conditioned on the defendant's appearance at a preliminary arraignment in the judicial district of issuance, and then fails to appear. Because the term ''alias warrant'' is an archaic term that refers to the reissuance of a warrant when the original purpose of the warrant has not been achieved, and the warrant issued in paragraph (E) is issued for the failure to appear as contemplated by Rule 536(A)(1)(b), paragraph (E) was amended in 2005 by changing the terminology to ''bench warrant.''
Official Note: Original Rule 117 adopted June 30, 1964, effective January 1, 1965; suspended January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970. New Rule 117 adopted January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970; renumbered Rule 123 September 18, 1973, effective January 1, 1974; amended January 28, 1983, effective July 1, 1983; renumbered Rule 124 and amended August 9, 1994, effective January 1, 1995; amended December 27, 1994, effective April 1, 1995; renumbered Rule 517 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; Comment revised May 10, 2002, effective September 1, 2002; amended October 19, 2005, effective February 1, 2006.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
* * * * * Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court's Order at 30 Pa.B. [1477] 1478 (March 18, 2000).
* * * * * Final Report explaining the October 19, 2005 amendments to paragraph (E) changing ''alias warrant'' to ''bench warrant'' published with the Court's Order at 35 Pa.B. 6090 (November 5, 2005).
FINAL REPORT1
Amendments to Pa.Rs.Crim.P. 514 and 517
Alias Warrants On October 19, 2005, effective February 1, 2006, upon the recommendation of the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, the Court amended Rules 514 (Duplicate and Alias Warrants of Arrest) and 517 (Procedure in Court Cases When Warrant of Arrest is Executed Outside Judicial District of Issuance) to eliminate the term ''alias warrants'' from the rules as archaic, and replace the term in Rule 514 with a provision for the reissuance of a warrant and in Rule 517 with a provision for the issuance of a bench warrant.
These amendments developed out of the Committee's ongoing review of the rules in general. When discussing the arrest warrant rules as part of the discussion about the use of advanced communications technology, several members questioned the meaning and use of the term ''alias warrant'' in Rules 514 and 517. Based upon a review of the origin of the term ''alias warrant'' and its usage in the rules, as explained below, the Committee concluded that the term should be eliminated as archaic from Rules 514 and 517, the only rules that use the term.
The term ''alias,'' when used as an adjective to describe issued process such as a warrant, summons or writ, generally indicates process that is issued again after the first instrument has not been effective or has not resulted in action. This particular meaning is derived from the Latin phrase ''sicut alias praecipimus'' meaning ''as we previously commanded.'' Specifically in Rule 514, ''alias warrant'' describes the situation in which a duplicate of a warrant is issued after the original warrant is served and executed but has failed to achieve its original purpose.
The use of ''alias warrant'' in Rule 514 has not changed since the Court originally adopted the rule in 1964. From our research into the term, the Committee concluded the term is archaic and has fallen out of usage. The members of the Committee also noted from their experience that the use of ''alias warrant'' in the rules is a source of confusion for members of the bench and bar. In view of these observations, the Committee evaluated the purpose of Rule 514(B) that provides:
After service and execution of an original or duplicate warrant, an alias warrant may be issued if the purpose for which the original or duplicate has been issued has not been accomplished,and concluded the circumstances contemplated by Rule 514 may be more simply defined as a ''reissuance'' of the original or duplicate warrant.
Accordingly, Rule 514(B) is amended by deleting the term ''alias warrant.'' Instead, in those circumstances in which a warrant has been served or executed but the purpose of the warrant has not been accomplished, the rule would provide that the court may reissue the original warrant. The amendment does not contemplate the need to file a new affidavit in such circumstances.
''Alias warrant'' is used differently in Rule 517 than in Rule 514. Rule 517 describes the procedures for arrest warrants that are executed outside of the judicial district of issuance. The rule provides for an apprehended defendant to be brought before an issuing authority in the judicial district of arrest for the purpose of posting bail. The term ''alias warrant'' in Rule 517(E) describes the type of warrant that is issued when a defendant, subsequent to release on bail, fails to appear for preliminary arraignment in the judicial district of issuance.
Unlike the definition of ''alias warrant'' gleaned from historical references and provided in Rule 514, the original warrant in a Rule 517 context has been served and executed and the purpose for which the warrant originally had been issued was accomplished with the arrest of the defendant and the defendant's appearance before an issuing authority. Rule 517 contemplates that a preliminary arraignment will be scheduled and that the release on bail at the initial appearance is conditioned on the defendant's appearance. It is the failure to appear at the preliminary arraignment that triggers the issuance of the warrant. This situation is more akin to the issuance of a new warrant under Rule 536(A)(1)(b) for failure to appear.
The Committee reviewed the Rule 517 history and found that the use of the term ''alias warrant'' in Rule 517(E) has not changed since the rule's inception in 1964. We did not uncover any reason for the use of this term in the context contemplated by Rule 517. In view of the Committee's research into both Rules 514 and 517, Rule 517(E) is amended by the deletion of the term ''alias warrant,'' and that ''bench warrant'' as described in Rule 536(A)(1)(b) is used in place of ''alias warrant.'' This is a more accurate description and avoids the use of an archaic and obscure terminology.
The reasons for replacement of the term are further elaborated in the Comments to both Rules 514 and 517.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 05-2012. Filed for public inspection November 4, 2005, 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.
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