THE COURTS
Title 255—LOCAL
COURT RULES
HUNTINGDON COUNTY
Adoption of Local Central Court Rules: Hunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 106, 117, 131(b), 510, 540 and 543; CP-31-MD-158-2015; AO-5-2015
[45 Pa.B. 5678]
[Saturday, September 19, 2015]
Administrative Order of Court And Now, this 27th day of August, 2015, Local Central Court Rules, Hunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 106, 117, 131(b), 510, 540, and 543 as follows, are hereby Adopted and it is Ordered that:
1. The Huntingdon County District Court Administrator shall file one certified copy of each Rule with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts;
2. The Huntingdon County District Court Administrator shall distribute two certified copies of each Rule and a CD-ROM containing the text of the Rules to the Legislative Reference for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
3. The Huntingdon County District Court Administrator shall publish a copy of each Rule on the Unified Judicial System's web site at http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/localrules/ruleselection.aspx.
4. The Huntingdon County Prothonotary shall ensure that the Rules are continuously available for public inspection in the office of Prothonotary.
5. These Rules shall become effective 30 days after the date of publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
By the Court
GEORGE N. ZANIC,
President JudgeHunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 106. Central Court Continuances.
1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2, all continuance requests shall be submitted in writing on the Central Court Continuance form and shall be submitted to the Office of Court Administration. Continuance forms will be made available through the Office of Court Administration.
2. The Court of Common Pleas shall grant or deny all Central Court continuance requests.
3. If a continuance request is granted by the presiding Magisterial District Judge in open Court:
a. The Magisterial District Judge shall (i) inform the Central Court Coordinator of the continuance and (ii) inform the Central Court Coordinator which party is to be assigned responsibility for requesting the continuance.
b. The Central Court coordinator shall prepare and serve all parties with notice (Rescheduling Notice) of the new hearing date, time and place.
Hunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 117. Scheduling Procedures.
A. The scheduling of Central Court proceedings shall be overseen by the District Court Administrator.
B. The Office of Court Administration shall coordinate the scheduling of all cases assigned to Central Court for each Magisterial District Judge.
C. After docketing and processing criminal complaints, the staff of the issuing authority (MDJ Staff) will contact the Court Administrator's office to obtain dates and times for the scheduling of Central Court proceedings.
D. Unless otherwise directed by the President Judge, Preliminary Hearings shall be scheduled and held weekly on Wednesdays in Courtroom No. 1 of the Huntingdon County Courthouse, commencing at 8:45 a.m.
E. Unless otherwise directed by the President Judge, hearings to set bail and to provide defendants an opportunity to waive their preliminary hearings shall be scheduled and held every other week on Wednesdays in Courtroom No. 1 of the Huntingdon County Courthouse, commencing at 12:30 p.m.
F. Central Court is intended to be a forum to make preliminary disposition of criminal cases. It is not to be an informal meeting place to initiate settlement discussions.
1. Prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys are urged to make contact with each other to discuss their cases prior to Central Court.
2. Magisterial District Judges are directed to conduct Central Court in an orderly and efficient manner.
Hunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 131(b). Central Court Overview.
A. Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 130(6) all proceedings in criminal cases, with the exception of preliminary arraignments, shall be heard in Magisterial District 20-0-00, regardless of the magisterial district in which the offense(s) are alleged to have occurred.
B. Magisterial District Judges will be assigned by the President Judge to preside at Central Court on a rotating basis. A list outlining the rotation will be prepared by the District Court Administrator and approved by the President Judge with an Assignment Order pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 132.
1. Every effort should be made by the Magisterial District Judges to schedule vacation, personal time and other commitments at times when they are not scheduled for Central Court.
2. In the event of illness or other emergencies, a written request to appoint another Magisterial District Judge for Central Court shall be made to the District Court Administrator as soon as possible by hand delivery, fax or email.
C. The Magisterial District Judge in whose magisterial district a criminal case is assigned a criminal docket number and processed for Central Court is hereinafter referred to as the ''issuing authority.''
D. The District Attorney and/or Assistant District Attorney and a representative from the Public Defender's office shall be present at all sessions of Central Court.
E. The Central Court Coordinator shall be responsible for the day-to-day business of Central Court and shall be present in the courtroom for the processing of cases.
F. The prosecuting police agency shall be responsible for arranging transportation of incarcerated defendants to and from the courthouse for any required appearances in Central Court. In addition, the prosecuting police officer shall remain with the defendant(s) throughout all Central Court proceedings and shall escort the defendant(s) to and from the courtroom from a holding cell.
Hunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 510. Notice of Preliminary Hearing.
Upon the filing of a criminal complaint at the office of a Magisterial District Judge where there is neither an arrest warrant issued nor a preliminary arraignment conducted, the MDJ Staff shall contact the Office of Court Administration to obtain a date for the defendant to report for a hearing in Central Court.
a. The hearing shall be scheduled for not less than 20 days from the date of the mailing of the summons unless the issuing authority fixes an earlier date upon the request of the defendant or the defendant's attorney with the consent of the affiant.
b. When a hearing date has been obtained by the MDJ Staff, the Magisterial District Judge shall issue an ''Order to Appear for Central Court'' and a ''Hearing Notice'' to the defendant.
c. The Order to Appear for Central Court shall be printed on the Magisterial District Judge's letterhead, shall be signed by the Magisterial District Judge and shall have the seal of the Magisterial District Court affixed.
d. A copy of the Order to Appear for Central Court shall be retained in the MDJ case file. MDJ Staff shall date and initial this copy in the ''Office Use Only'' block as verification that they included the Order to Appear for Central Court with the Complaint and other documents which are mailed to the defendant.
e. The MDJ Staff shall send the defendant, by both certified mail and first class mail, the following:
i. The signed and sealed Order to Appear for Central Court.
ii. The Hearing Notice.
iii. An Informational or Instructions.
iv. The Complaint and Affidavit of Probable Cause.
v. A fingerprint order if applicable.
vi. An application for a public defender.
f. The MDJ Staff shall fax a copy of the criminal complaint, the affidavit of the probable cause and the Hearing Notice to the Office of Court Administration, the Office of the District Attorney and the Office of the Public Defender.
Hunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 540. Procedure When a Criminal Complaint Is Filed.
When a criminal complaint is filed with a Magisterial District Judge, the case will be scheduled for Central Court as follows:
For a case in which the defendant was either (i) arrested by a warrant and given a preliminary arraignment before a Magisterial District Judge, or (ii) arrested on-site by police officers and brought before a Magisterial District Judge for a preliminary arraignment: The Magisterial District Judge will schedule a preliminary hearing in Central Court pursuant to Pa. Rule of Criminal Procedure 540(G)(1), i.e., the Magisterial District Judge shall ''. . . fix a day and hour for a preliminary hearing which shall not be later than 14 days after the preliminary arraignment if the defendant is in custody and no later than 21 days if not in custody unless: (a) extended for cause shown; or (b) the issuing authority fixes an earlier date upon request of the defendant or defense counsel with the consent of the complainant and the attorney for the Commonwealth. . . .''
A. At the preliminary arraignment the defendant shall be provided with a Notice of Preliminary Arraignment, a Notice of Preliminary Hearing, a Public Defender Application and a copy of the complaint and affidavit of probable cause.
B. At the preliminary arraignment the police officer (affiant) shall be given a Notice of Preliminary Hearing.
C. The MDJ Staff shall fax a copy of the criminal complaint, the affidavit of probable cause, the Preliminary Hearing Notice and Commitment (if the defendant is incarcerated) to the Office of Court Administration, the Office of the District Attorney and the Office of the Public Defender.
Hunt.Co.R.Crim.P. 543. Procedure at Central Court.
A. The Office of Court Administration shall process all waivers of preliminary hearings and bail bonds in Central Court. Subsequently, the docket transcript, criminal complaint and other pertinent documents shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Courts for filing after disposition in Central Court.
B. In the event that the prosecution agrees to settle a case by withdrawing all felony and misdemeanor charges and allowing the defendant to plead guilty to a summary offense, the presiding Magisterial District Judge shall approve or disapprove the settlement in Central Court, subject to the terms set forth below in this paragraph.
1. If approved, the presiding Magisterial District Judge shall inform the defendant of the conditions set forth in subsection (2) below and instruct the defendant that he/she must comply with all of the settlement terms or the settlement will be automatically void with no further notice given, in which event the Central Court Administrator shall forthwith schedule or reschedule a preliminary hearing for the defendant.
2. The terms of settlement shall be that (i) the defendant pay a fine, plus the costs of prosecution and any restitution at the office of the issuing authority not later than 3:45 p.m. of the same day, and (ii) payment must be made in full with cash, certified check or money order only.
3. Following approval of the settlement in Central Court, the Central Court Administrator shall promptly notify the MDJ Staff at the office of the issuing authority of the settlement.
4. If the defendant appears at the office of the issuing authority by 3:45 p.m. and pays the fine, costs and restitution in full, as required, the MDJ Staff at the office of the issuing authority shall enter the disposition, accept payment and notify the Central Court Administrator of full compliance with the terms of settlement.
5. If the defendant fails to appear at the office of the issuing authority by 3:45 p.m., or if the defendant fails to pay the fine, costs and restitution in full as required, the MDJ Staff at the office of the issuing authority shall notify the Central Court Coordinator, whereupon the Central Court Coordinator shall promptly schedule or reschedule a preliminary hearing for that defendant.
6. In any case in which the defendant fails to appear for the preliminary hearing, if the issuing authority finds the defendant did not receive notice of the preliminary hearing by a summons served pursuant to Rule 511, a warrant of arrest shall be issued pursuant to Rule 509(2)(d).
a. If the issuing authority finds that there was cause explaining the defendant's failure to appear, the issuing authority shall continue the preliminary hearing to a specific date and time, giving notice of the new date, time, and place as provided in Rule 542(G)(2). In this scenario, the issuing authority shall not issue a bench warrant.
b. If the issuing authority finds the defendant was absent without cause but received notice, the absence shall be deemed a waiver by the defendant of the right to be present at any further proceedings before the issuing authority. In cases such as these, the issuing authority shall proceed with the case in the same manner as if the defendant was present. Following such cases, the issuing authority shall give the defendant notice by first class mail of the results of the preliminary hearing.
7. When the most serious offense charged against a defendant is a misdemeanor, the issuing authority, pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 546, may dismiss the case upon a showing that (i) the public interest will not be adversely affected; (ii) the attorney for the Commonwealth, or in cases in which there is no attorney for the Commonwealth present, the affiant, consents to the dismissal; (iii) satisfaction has been made to the aggrieved person or there is an agreement that satisfaction will be made to the aggrieved person; and (iv) there is an agreement as to who shall pay the costs.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-1683. Filed for public inspection September 18, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]
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