234 Pa. Code Rule 508. Procedure Following Submission of Complaint to Issuing Authority.

Rule 508. Procedure Following Submission of Complaint to Issuing Authority.

(A)  Before accepting a complaint for filing, the issuing authority shall ascertain and certify on the complaint that:
   (1)  the complaint has been properly completed and executed; and
   (2)  when prior submission to an attorney for the Commonwealth is required, an attorney has approved the complaint.
(B)  Upon certification of the above matters, the issuing authority shall accept the complaint for filing, and the case shall proceed as otherwise provided in these rules.

Comment

   This rule was amended in 1994 to clarify the procedures that the issuing authority must follow before a complaint may be filed. For the rules governing the issuance of process after a complaint is filed, see generally Rule 509 (Use of Summons or Warrant of Arrest in Court Cases) and Rule 518 (Procedure in Court Cases Initiated by Arrest Without Warrant).
   See Rule 513 concerning the procedures for the issuance of an arrest warrant.
   While the rule continues to require a written certification, the form of certification was deleted in 1985 because it is no longer necessary to control the specific form of written certification.
   For the requirement that probable cause for the issuance of an arrest warrant be contained in an affidavit, see Rule 513.
   Under paragraph (A)(2), the method by which the district attorney approves and transmits a private complaint pursuant to Rule 506(B)(1) may be determined by local practice.
   Private complaints must first be submitted to the district attorney for approval or disapproval under Rule 506. For private complaint procedures in summary cases, see Rule 421.
   Paragraph (A)(2) also applies when a district attorney elects to proceed under Rule 507 (Approval of Police Complaints and Arrest Warrant Affidavits by Attorney for the Commonwealth—Local Option).

   Official Note
   Original Rule 106 adopted June 30, 1964, effective January 1, 1965; suspended January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970. New Rule 106 adopted January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970; renumbered Rule 134 and amended September 18, 1973, effective January 1, 1974; amended January 23, 1975, effective September 1, 1975; amended April 26, 1979, effective July 1, 1979; Comment revised April 24, 1981, effective July 1, 1981; amended October 22, 1981, effective January 1, 1982; amended November 9, 1984, effective January 2, 1985; renumbered Rule 108 and amended August 9, 1994, effective January 1, 1995; Comment revised March 22, 1996, effective July 1, 1996; renumbered Rule 508 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001.
   Committee Explanatory Reports:
   Final Report explaining the August 9, 1994 amendments published with the Court’s Order at 24 Pa.B. 4342 (August 27, 1994).
   Final Report explaining the March 22, 1996 Comment revision published at 26 Pa.B. 1690 (April 13, 1996).
   Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 Pa.B. 1477 (March 18, 2000).

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