Rule 241. Summoning Jurors for Statewide or Regional Investigating Grand Juries.
(A) Grand Jury Having Statewide Jurisdiction:
(1) Upon receipt of an application to convene an investigating grand jury having statewide jurisdiction, the Court shall cause the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania to draw 6 counties at random from the district where the grand jury will be located, which are to be weighted on the basis of their approximate relative populations. The 6 counties so drawn plus the county or counties to be designated as locations of the investigating grand jury, shall together supply jurors for the investigating grand jury. The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall establish the number of names of persons to be forwarded from each county, as provided in (A)(2), based on the approximate relative populations of the respective counties involved. The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall then submit this information to the Court.
(2) Upon receipt of the order convening an investigating grand jury, the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall request from the president judge of each of the counties supplying jurors the names and addresses of persons residing in the county who are eligible by law to serve as grand jurors and who have been screened as provided by Rule 242.
(3) The total of such names of prospective jurors to be collected shall be 200, of which 50 shall be selected at random and summoned by the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania to the designated location of the investigating grand jury. The supervising judge shall impanel the investigating grand jury from this panel of 50 prospective jurors. If the summoning of additional prospective jurors becomes necessary, they shall be summoned by the supervising judge from among the remaining 150 prospective jurors.
(B) Grand Jury Having Regional Jurisdiction:
(1) Upon receipt of an application to convene an regional investigating grand jury, the Court shall cause the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania to establish the number of names of persons to be forwarded from each county, as provided in (B)(2), based on the approximate relative populations of the respective counties involved. The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall submit the information to the Court.
(2) Upon receipt of the order convening a regional investigating grand jury, the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall request from the president judge of each of the counties specified in the convening order the names and addresses of persons residing in the county who are eligible by law to serve as grand jurors and who have been screened as provided in Rule 242.
(3) The total of such names of prospective jurors to be collected shall be 200, of which 50 shall be selected at random and summoned by the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania to the designated location of the investigating grand jury. The supervising judge shall impanel the investigating grand jury from this panel of 50 prospective jurors. If the summoning of additional prospective jurors becomes necessary, they shall be summoned by the supervising judge from among the remaining 150 prospective jurors.
(C) Definitions:
(1) ‘‘District’’ means the Eastern District, Middle District, and Western District.
(2) ‘‘Eastern District’’ consists of Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.
(3) ‘‘Middle District’’ consists of Adams, Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, and York counties.
(4) ‘‘Western District’’ consists of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Warren, Washington, and Westmoreland counties.
Comment If the 200 prospective jurors prove to be insufficient for the impaneling of the statewide or regional investigating grand jury, it is expected that additional prospective jurors may be summoned as provided by law.
Official Note
Rule 241 adopted July 1, 1980, effective August 1, 1980; amended October 21, 1983, effective January 1, 1984 ; renumbered Rule 241 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; amended June 7, 2006, effective immediately.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 Pa.B. 1478 (March 18, 2000).
Source The provisions of this Rule 241 amended June 7, 2006, effective immediately. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (264159) to (264160).
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