THE COURTS
Title 246--MINOR COURT
CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
[ 246 PA. CODE CH. 100 ]
Proposed Amendments to Rule 110 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges
[37 Pa.B. 6744]
[Saturday, December 22, 2007]The Minor Court Rules Committee is planning to recommend that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania amend Rule 110 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges to require bonds for senior magisterial district judges. The Committee has not yet submitted this proposal for review by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
The following explanatory Report highlights the Committee's considerations in formulating this proposal. The Committee's Report should not be confused with the Committee's Official Notes to the rules. The Supreme Court does not adopt the Committee's Official Notes or the contents of the explanatory reports.
The text of the proposed changes precedes the Report. Additions are shown in bold; deletions are in bold and brackets.
We request that interested persons submit written suggestions, comments, or objections concerning this proposal to the Committee through counsel,
Paula Knudsen Burke, Counsel
Minor Court Rules Committee
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
5035 Ritter Road, Suite 700
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Fax 717-795-2175
or e-mail to: minorrules@pacourts.usno later than March 1, 2008.
By the Minor Court Rules Committee
M. KAY DUBREE,
Chair
Annex A
TITLE 246. MINOR COURT CIVIL RULES
PART I. GENERAL
CHAPTER 100. RULES AND STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO OFFICES OF MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES Rule 110. Bonds of Magisterial District Judges and Appointed Senior Magisterial District Judges.
(a) Each magisterial district judge is required to give bond in such sum, not less than $25,000, as shall be directed by the president judge of the court of common pleas of the judicial district in which is located the magisterial district of the magisterial district judge, with one or more sufficient sureties. The bond shall be lodged with the prothonotary of the court of common pleas, be conditioned on the faithful application of all moneys that come into the hands of the magisterial district judge as an officer, and be for the benefit of the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions and all persons who may sustain injury from the magisterial district judge in his or her official capacity.
(b) Each appointed senior magisterial district judge is required to give a bond not less than $25,000. Payment of the appointed senior magisterial district judge bond shall be administered by the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts. The bond shall be lodged with the prothonotary of the Commonwealth Court, and be conditioned upon faithful application of all moneys that come into the hands of the appointed senior magisterial district judge as an officer, and be for the benefit of the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions and all persons who may sustain injury from the appointed senior magisterial district judge in his or her official capacity.
Official Note: This rule sets forth only the minimum bond amount for each magisterial district judge. The amount of money collected by the district courts varies greatly however, and the president judge is free to require higher bond amounts for some or all of the courts in the judicial district.
See Pa.R.J.A. No. 701(A) for necessary conditions to become a senior magisterial district judge and Pa.R.J.A. No. 701(C) for information about assignment of senior magisterial district judges. Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 701(C), senior magisterial district judges are assigned by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
REPORT
Proposed Amendment to the Note to Rule 110 of the Rules of Conduct, Office Standards and Civil Procedure for Magisterial District Judges
Including Senior Magisterial District Judges in the Bond Requirement of Rule 110 I. Introduction
The Minor Court Rules Committee (''Committee'') began reviewing Rule 110 (''Bonds of Magisterial District Judges'') in 2006 following an inquiry from a county court administrator. During an audit, a question arose about who bore the responsibility for paying senior magisterial district judges' bonds--the county or state?
The last change to Rule 110 occurred in Jan. 2006, when the Rule changed to reflect an increase in the minimum bond from $2,500 to $25,000. A subcommittee of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania's Intergovernmental Task Force to Study the District Justice System recommended the increase.
II. Discussion and Proposed Change to Rule 110
The Committee invested significant time researching the question of senior MDJ bond payment before arriving at any conclusions. With the assistance of the Committee's Pennsylvania Association of Court Management (PACM) liaison, the Committee surveyed counties throughout the Commonwealth. The responses from a diverse cross-section of counties showed that there was no uniformity in the manner in which senior MDJs were being bonded (if at all). However, one element of this issue remained fairly constant from all parts of the state--most court administrators strongly felt that their counties should not be required to bear the cost of paying for senior MDJ bonds when the counties themselves have no authority over senior MDJs.
Pursuant to the Rules of Judicial Administration, the statewide Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (''AOPC'') oversees the process of certifying and assigning judges. See Pa.R.J.A. No. 701(B) and (C). Individual county president judges must apply to the AOPC to fill vacancies in their districts. See Pa.R.J.A. No. 701(C)(1). Only senior magisterial district judges who have completed the appropriate AOPC forms and meet eligibility guidelines are considered for assignment in vacant districts. See generally Pa.R.J.A. 701(A) and (B). In addition to overseeing certification and assignments, the AOPC also pays for assigned judges' expenses. See Pa.R.J.A. No. 701(C)(5). In considering the practical implications of this protocol, the Committee noted that in a relatively short period of time--perhaps a few months--a senior MDJ could be assigned to a number of contiguous counties. In such an instance, it would be unfair for a county to pay a senior MDJ's bond if he or she were simply going to be transferred by the AOPC the next week to a different county.
In summary, the Committee decided that including senior MDJs in Rule 110 and requiring that the AOPC pay their bonds would be in the interest of judicial economy and centralization. The Committee settled upon the language ''appointed senior magisterial district judges'' to differentiate from senior MDJs in general. The Committee felt that only those senior MDJs who had actually been appointed to a particular judicial vacancy should be bonded, not all senior MDJs.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-2343. Filed for public inspection December 21, 2007, 9:00 a.m.]
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