Rule 5101. Definitions.
(a) The following words and phrases when used in these rules shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, or the particular word or phrase is expressly defined in the chapter in which the particular rule is included:
(1) ‘‘Court Proceeding.’’ Any trial, hearing, argument or similar event before a judge, panel, or hearing officer where evidence, if entered, is on the record. It does not include a proceeding before a magisterial district court, a non-record proceeding before the Philadelphia Municipal Court, a judicial arbitration matter pursuant to Pa.R.Civ.P. 1301 et seq., a hearing before a register of wills pursuant to Pa.R.O.C.P. 10.3, or any matter that is not a record proceeding;
(2) ‘‘Custodian.’’ The person or persons designated by local rule of judicial administration to safeguard and maintain exhibits offered into evidence in a court proceeding. The custodian shall either be a member of court staff, e.g., court reporter, clerk of court, hearing officer, or the proponent of the exhibit. Custodian shall also include the custodian’s designee;
(3) ‘‘Exhibit.’’ A document, record, object, photograph, model, or similar item offered into evidence, whether or not admitted, in a court proceeding;
(4) ‘‘Judicial District.’’ A geographic area established by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania in which a court of common pleas is located;
(5) ‘‘Local Rule.’’ A local rule of judicial administration, however titled, adopted by a judicial district pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 103(c) or an Internal Operating Procedure adopted by an appellate court;
(6) ‘‘Proponent.’’ A party seeking the admission of an exhibit into the record in a court proceeding; and
(7) ‘‘Records office.’’ The entity with the responsibility and function to maintain and retain the official case file and list of docket entries as required by rule or law.
(b) For any words and phrases not defined by these rules, a meaning may be discerned through examination of its dictionary definition and its legal meaning may be gleaned from its use in an applicable body of law.
Comment: The definition of ‘‘court proceeding’’ includes, but is not limited to, civil and criminal trials, ancillary arguments, and hearings, as well as divorce, custody, support, delinquency, and dependency hearings before hearing officers and made of record.
A judicial district may promulgate a local rule to exclude from the provisions of this chapter proceedings that can be appealed de novo to a court of common pleas or upon which exceptions or objections can be filed to a court of common pleas. See Pa.R.J.A. 5104(b).
The definition of ‘‘exhibit’’ includes items admitted or rejected by the court after being offered into evidence by a proponent.
The definition of ‘‘judicial district’’ is derived from 42 Pa.C.S. § 901.
A ‘‘records office’’ includes the prothonotary of a court, the clerk of courts, the clerk of an orphans’ court, or the equivalent office by whatever name known.
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