Cumberland Cnty. C.P. Updated text for changed rules Rule 571

Every defendant shall be arraigned before a judge, before the Clerk of Court, the Clerk’s

deputy or by first class mail, where the defendant is represented by counsel of record and

upon timely initiative, hereinafter set forth:

(a) Arraignment shall take place at the Cumberland County Courthouse, at the

Cumberland County Prison, at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, by

first class mail, or at such other place as may be designated by an order of the

President Judge.

(b) If defense counsel chooses to have the defendant arraigned via first class mail,

then the defendant and their counsel must complete the Acknowledgment of

Arraignment form as provided by the Court; and file the Acknowledgment of

Arraignment form with the Clerk of Court before the date set for arraignment.

(c) Except when arraignment is done via first class mail, arraignment shall take place

no later than ten (10) days after the information has been filed, unless waived by

a defendant who has counsel, or is otherwise postponed by the court for cause

shown.

(d) Defendant and counsel, if an appearance has been entered, shall receive written

notice of the arraignment no later than five (5) days before the date scheduled for

the arraignment.

(1) Such notice shall include a caption containing the name of the case, and

the docket number and/or the offense tracking number.

(2) A completed subpoena to appear for formal arraignment shall be executed

and given personally to the defendant by the Magisterial District Judge

following a preliminary hearing on the charges or a waiver thereof. Notice

may also be given by first-class mail or in accordance with Pa.R.Crim.P.

114.

(e) If a defendant is represented by private counsel, or court-appointed counsel other

than the Public Defender, defendant may appear with counsel before the Clerk of

Court for arraignment anytime prior to the scheduled formal arraignment, at which

time counsel shall enter a formal appearance, if an appearance has not been

previously entered of record.

(f) At arraignment, the defendant shall be instructed to appear at a pretrial conference

pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 570 and trial.

(g) Acknowledgment of Arraignment form as provided by the Court shall be signed,

and a copy given to defendant, on arraignments held before the Clerk of Courts or

a deputy. Upon any refusal to sign the form, the Clerk or deputy shall read the

form to defendant and attest to same.

RULES OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER II. CUSTODY OF EXHIBITS

Rule 5102. General Provisions

(a) The court recorder or court reporter for all, or a portion, of a court proceeding

shall be designated as the “Custodian,” as defined by Pa. R.J.A. 5101(a)(2), for

all documentary exhibits, photographs, and photographs of non-documentary

exhibits accepted or rejected during the court proceeding submitted during that

period.

(1) If only one custodian is involved with a proceeding, they shall file with the

appropriate records office all submitted exhibits and index of exhibits

within 5 business days of the conclusion of the proceeding.

(2) If multiple custodians are involved with a proceeding, the first custodian

shall provide the subsequent custodian (and so on, if more than two

custodians) with the submitted exhibits and index of exhibits. The

custodian at the conclusion of the proceeding shall file with the

appropriate records office all submitted exhibits and index of exhibits

within 5 business days of the conclusion of the proceeding.

(3) If no court recorder or court reporter is present for a hearing where

evidence is submitted, the presiding judge or hearing officer shall

designate someone as the custodian.

(b) The proponent of an exhibit at a hearing or trial shall provide the custodian with

an index of their proposed exhibit(s).

(1) The index shall include a numbered list of the exhibit(s), a textual

description or identification of each exhibit, and space to note whether

each exhibit was admitted, rejected, or not offered.

(2) Each exhibit shall be pre-marked as notated on the index.

Rule 5103. Custody of Exhibits. Special Provisions

(a) The proponent shall retain custody of physical evidence (including, but not limited

to weapons, cash, other items of value, drugs, or other dangerous materials) and

bulky, oversized, or otherwise physically impractical exhibits at all times during

and after a court proceeding.

(1) These non-documentary exhibits must be photographed by the proponent,

converted to a letter sized document, and appropriately marked and

produced during the court proceeding for inclusion in the documentary

record.

(2) Unless otherwise provided by the presiding judge, at the conclusion of the

court proceeding, non-documentary evidence shall be returned to the

proponent for safekeeping as required by any applicable retention

schedule, statute, rule, regulation, or policy, or until further order of court.

(3) Unless otherwise ordered, the proponent or filing office shall maintain non-documentary exhibits for a minimum of following time periods:

i. Non-criminal matters. Retain exhibits until the later of the expiration

of the appeal period or final disposition of the appeal if one is taken.

ii. Criminal matters:

(A) Homicides. Retain exhibits 75 years.

(B) Summary cases. Retain exhibits 5 years.

(C) Other cases. Retain exhibits 20 years.

(b) Any digital exhibit that cannot be printed (i.e., audio or video recording) shall be

entered into the record on a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive (or other

format if expressly approved by the court). If one party has multiple digital

exhibits, they may be submitted together on one USB flash drive.

(c) Any exhibit containing confidential information or equivalent to any of the

categories enumerated in Pa. Access Policy § 8.0 shall include a Confidential

Document Form so that the document can be properly sealed by the record

office.