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. 21-1751

THE COURTS

Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Security Screening Procedures for Courthouse Complex; No. 2021-1

[51 Pa.B. 6592]
[Saturday, October 23, 2021]

Administrative Order

 And Now, this 8th day of October, 2021, it is hereby Ordered, Adjudged, and Decreed that the Sheriff of Washington County, or his designee, shall have the authority to conduct reasonable searches of persons and property entering the Courthouse and the Family Court Center to enforce the provisions of 18 Pa. Con. Stat. § 913, which prohibits the possession of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a court facility. A ''weapon'' is defined to include any firearm, knife, an explosive or incendiary device (whether operational, functional, real, or hoax), chemical substance, and/or any object that is designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting bodily injury, in addition to any item treated as a weapon under the Crimes Code of Pennsylvania.

 The Court finds that there is a substantial interest in preventing people from bringing weapons into court facilities, and that it is necessary to provide clear direction to the Sheriff by authorizing the search of entrants for weapons of any kind. All visitors, invitees, employees, and officials, may be subject to screening as set forth above, whether by magnetometer, x-ray scan, or manual search. All packages, bags, briefcases, and other containers in the immediate possession of persons entering the Courthouse or Family Court Center, or the County property attendant thereto, are subject to inspection; provided, however, that such items are not allowed unless necessary for a business-related purpose. Small personal items, such as a purse, child-care bag, or laptop bag are permitted.

 The Sheriff, or his designee, shall have the discretion to prohibit an individual or item from entering the Courthouse and the Family Court Center based on a security concern, or if the individual refuses to comply with this Order.

 This Order shall be processed in conformity with Pa.R.J.A. 103. The District Court Administrator is directed to do the following:

 1. File one (1) copy of this Administrative Order with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts;

 2. Distribute two (2) certified copies to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin; and

 3. Serve a copy of this Administrative Order on the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, the Sheriff of Washington County, and all other necessary officials.

By the Court

JOHN F. DiSALLE, 
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-1751. Filed for public inspection October 22, 2021, 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.