Rule 1112. Appeals by Allowance.
(a) General rule.—An appeal may be taken by allowance under 42 Pa.C.S. § 724(a) (allowance of appeals from Superior and Commonwealth Courts) from any final order of the Commonwealth Court, not appealable under Pa.R.A.P. 1101 (appeals as of right from the Commonwealth Court), or from any final order of the Superior Court.
(b) Definition. Final order.—A final order of the Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court is any order that concludes an appeal, including an order that remands an appeal, in whole or in part, unless the appellate court remands and retains jurisdiction.
(c) Petition for Allowance of Appeal.
(1) Allowance of an appeal from a final order of the Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court may be sought by filing a petition for allowance of appeal with the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court within the time allowed by Pa.R.A.P. 1113 (time for petitioning for allowance of appeal), with proof of service on all other parties to the matter in the appellate court below.
(2) If the petition for allowance of appeal is transmitted to the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court by means of first class, express, or priority United States Postal Service mail, the petition shall be deemed received by the Prothonotary for the purposes of Pa.R.A.P. 121(a) (filing) on the date shown by the United States Postal Service as the date accepted for posting, as evidenced by a United States Postal Service Form 3817 Certificate of Mailing, Form 3800 Receipt for Certified Mail, Form 3806 Receipt for Registered Mail, or other similar United States Postal Service form from which the date of deposit can be verified. The certificate of mailing or other similar Postal Service form from which the date of deposit can be verified shall be cancelled by the Postal Service, shall show the docket number of the matter in the appellate court below, and shall be either enclosed with the petition or separately mailed to the Prothonotary.
(3) Upon actual receipt of the petition for allowance of appeal, the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court shall immediately stamp it with the date of actual receipt. That date, or the date of earlier deposit in the United States mail as prescribed in this rule, shall constitute the date when allowance of appeal was sought, which date shall be shown on the docket. The Prothonotary of the Supreme Court shall immediately note the Supreme Court docket number upon the petition for allowance of appeal and give notice of the docket number assignment to the prothonotary of the appellate court below who shall note on the docket that a petition for allowance of appeal has been filed. The Prothonotary of the Supreme Court shall send notice to all persons named in the proof of service accompanying the petition.
(4) In a children’s fast track appeal, the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court shall stamp the petition for allowance of appeal with a ‘‘Children’s Fast Track’’ designation in red ink, advising the Supreme Court that the petition for allowance of appeal is a children’s fast track appeal.
(d) Reproduced record.—One copy of the reproduced record, if any, in the appellate court below shall be lodged with the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court at the time the petition for allowance of appeal is filed therein. A party filing a cross-petition for allowance of appeal from the same order need not lodge any reproduced record in addition to that lodged by petitioner.
(e) Fee.—The petitioner upon filing the petition for allowance of appeal shall pay any fee therefor prescribed by Chapter 27 (fees and costs in appellate courts and on appeal).
(f) Entry of appearance. Upon the filing of the petition for allowance of appeal the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court shall note on the record as counsel for the petitioner the name of his or her counsel, if any, set forth in or endorsed upon the petition for allowance of appeal, and, as counsel for other parties, counsel, if any, named in the proof of service. Unless that party is entitled by law to be represented by counsel on allowance of appeal, the Prothonotary shall upon praecipe of any such counsel for other parties, filed at any time within 30 days after filing of the petition, strike off or correct the record of appearance. If entry of appearance in the trial court extends through appeals, counsel’s appearance for a party may not be withdrawn without leave of court. Appearance cannot be withdrawn without leave of court for counsel who have not filed a praecipe to correct appearance within the first 30 days after the petition is docketed, unless another lawyer has entered or simultaneously enters an appearance for the party.
Comment: Based on 42 Pa.C.S. § 724(a) (allowance of appeals from Superior and Commonwealth Courts). The notation on the docket by the Prothonotary of the Superior Court or Commonwealth Court of the filing of a petition for allowance of appeal renders universal the rule that the appeal status of any order may be discovered by examining the docket of the court in which it was entered.
The United States Postal Service form may be in substantially the following form:
The transmittal should be taken unsealed to the Post Office, the Form 3817 Certificate of Mailing, Form 3800 Receipt for Certified Mail, Form 3806 Receipt for Registered Mail, or other similar United States Postal Service form from which the date of deposit can be verified should be obtained, cancelled, and attached to the petition, and the envelope should only then be sealed. Alternatively, the cancelled Form 3817, Form 3800, Form 3806, or other similar United States Postal Service form from which the date of deposit can be verified can be submitted to the Prothonotary under separate cover with clear identification of the filing to which it relates.
It is recommended that the petitioner obtain a duplicate copy of the Form 3817, Form 3800, Form 3806, or other similar United States Postal Service form from which the date of deposit can be verified as evidence of mailing. Since the Post Office is technically the filing office for the purpose of this rule, a petition which was mailed in accordance with this rule and which is subsequently lost in the mail will nevertheless toll the time for petitioning for allowance of appeal. However, counsel will be expected to follow up on a mail filing by telephone inquiry to the appellate prothonotary where written notice of the docket number assignment is not received in due course.
The Rules of Criminal Procedure require counsel appointed by the trial court to continue representation through direct appeal. Pa.R.Crim.P. 120(A)(4) and Pa.R.Crim.P. 122(B)(2). Similarly, the Rules of Criminal Procedure require counsel appointed in post-conviction proceedings to continue representation throughout the proceedings, including any appeal from the disposition of the petition for post-conviction collateral relief. Pa.R.Crim.P. 904(F)(2) and Pa.R.Crim.P. 904(H)(2)(b). The same is true when counsel enters an appearance on behalf of a juvenile in a delinquency matter or on behalf of a child or other party in a dependency matter. Pa.R.J.C.P. 150(B), 151, Pa.R.J.C.P. 1150(B), 1151(B), (E). It would be rare for counsel in such cases to consider withdrawing by praecipe, but the 2020 amendment to the rule avoids any possibility of confusion by clarifying that withdrawal by praecipe is available only in matters that do not otherwise require court permission to withdraw.
With respect to appearances by new counsel following the initial docketing of appearances pursuant to paragraph (f) of this rule, please note the requirements of Pa.R.A.P. 120.
Where an appellant desires to challenge the discretionary aspects of a sentence of a trial court, the ‘‘petition for allowance of appeal’’ referred to in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9781(b) is deferred until the briefing stage, and the appeal is commenced by filing a notice of appeal pursuant to Chapter 9 rather than a petition for allowance of appeal pursuant to Chapter 11. See note to Pa.R.A.P. 902; note to Pa.R.A.P. 1115; Pa.R.A.P. 2116(b) and the note thereto; Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f) and the note thereto.
Source The provisions of this Rule 1112 amended through December 16, 1983, effective December 16, 1983, 13 Pa.B. 3998; amended July 7, 1997, effective in 60 days, 27 Pa.B. 3503; amended March 15, 2004, effective 60 days after adoption, 34 Pa.B. 1670; amended September 10, 2008, effective December 1, 2008, 38 Pa.B. 5257; amended January 13, 2009, effective as to all appeals filed 60 days or more after adoption, 39 Pa.B. 1094; amended May 28, 2014, effective July 1, 2014, 44 Pa.B. 3493; amended January 7, 2020, effective May 1, 2020, 50 Pa.B. 535; amended September 11, 2023, effective January 1, 2024, 53 Pa.B. 5877. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (408501) to (408502) and (400753) to (400754).
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