Fayette Cnty. C.P. Local Rules and Administrative Orders - Amended March 12,... Rule 575

(6) In order to provide a uniform means of presenting to the Court all

matters which require action by the Court, Motions Court will be held daily at 9:00

o’clock A.M. in the courtroom of the Motions Judge. The name of the assigned Motions

Judge for each day shall be published periodically in the Fayette County Legal Journal.

(b) All applications for Court action, including motions, petitions, and

any other applications shall be presented to the Court by following this Motions Court

procedure. The party presenting the motion to the Court is to select the day on which

the motion will be listed for Motions Court.

(c) As used herein, the term “motion” shall include every type of

motion, petition, or other application for action by the Court, and shall be designated as

either “Priority” or “Routine”, presentation of the latter not requiring the presence of the

parties or counsel for either side. By definition, a “priority” motion is one which may be

subject to contest or is so unusual as to require discussion or explanation, while

“routine” motions include all other applications, such as uncontested matters to which

the parties have consented in writing, requests for hearing, or requests for later

argument.

(d) All documents filed shall be on 8 ½ inch x 11 inch

paper and shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) The document shall be prepared on good quality white paper.

(2) The text must be double spaced. Margins must be at least one

inch on all four sides.

(3) The lettering shall be clear and legible shall be on only one side of

a page. Exhibits and similar supporting documents and paperbooks may be lettered on

both sides of the page.

(4) Documents and papers must be firmly bound. Any metal

fasteners or staples must be covered.

(5) No backers or top strips are permitted.

(e) All motions and other applications for Court action presented as

uncontested require certification as such, if no joinder has been attached.

(f) Any motion relating to discovery must contain a certification that counsel has

conferred or attempted to confer with the District Attorney in order to resolve the matter

without court action.

(g) All motions filed and served pursuant to this rule shall include a

Certificate of Service, signed by the party’s attorney, or the party if unrepresented,

setting forth the date and manner of service (personal delivery, mail, facsimile), and the

names, addresses and phone numbers of the persons served. The Certificate of

Service shall be substantially in the following form:

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I am this day serving the within document upon the persons and

in the manner indicated below.

1. Service by certified mail, first class mail:

(Name of person served)_____,____Phone Number___

Address; (and/or)

2. Service by facsimile at FAX number _________:

(Name of person served)_____, ____Phone number___

Address; (and/or)

3. Service in person:

(Name of person served)_____, ____Phone number___

Address

Date: ____________ Signature__________________

(h) All motions shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Presentation

as set forth in F.C.R.Crim.P 575(o).

(i) All motions and other applications for Court action must set forth a specific

citation to relevant constitutional provisions, case law, statutory provisions or rules that

provide the Court’s authority to grant the relief requested. Said citation shall be placed

on a Certificate of Presentation.

(j) The moving party shall file the original motion, Certificate of

Presentation, and any attachments in the appropriate filing office before presentment in

Motions Court. An original proposed order (if any), a copy of the Certificate of

Presentation, Certificate of Service, and motion, assembled in that order, shall be

delivered to the Court Administrator and every other party of record. Pursuant to

Pa.R.Crim.P. 576(B)(1), all motions and other documents for which filing is required

shall be served on each party and the Court Administrator so as to be received at least

two (2) business days before presentation in Motions Court, unless there are

emergency circumstances specified in the motion requiring presentation within a shorter

time.

(k) All priority motions pertaining to matters already ruled on by a Judge shall

be presented to that Judge in Motions Court, except in emergencies as set forth in

paragraph (j) of this Rule immediately above.

(l) The Court Administrator shall maintain a Motions Docket and shall

make daily entries of all motions filed and the disposition thereof.

(m) The Court Administrator shall assign any motion not otherwise

assigned to a Judge for disposition.

(n) Failure to completely provide the information required by the Certificates

of Presentation and Service may result in the matter not being listed for Motions Court.

(o) The Certificate of Presentation shall be substantially in the following

form:

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF FAYETTE COUNTY,

PENNSYLVANIA

:

:

:

:

: NO. ________OF________

CERTIFICATE OF PRESENTATION

1. The undersigned, ______________, represents ____________, the moving party

herein.

2. The attached motion will be presented in Motions Court on __________,

_______________, 20____ at 9:00 o’clock A.M.

3. The attached motion shall be classified as a Routine/Priority motion. (If the motion is

Routine, parties or counsel are not required to be present in Motions Court.)

4. Judge __________ has been assigned or has previously ruled on a matter relevant

to this motion. (See attached relevant ruling.)

5. The SPECIFIC citation for the Court’s authority to grant the relief requested is

_______________.

6. Estimated time for hearing or argument to resolve the motion on its merits:

_____________.

Respectfully submitted,

_______________________

Date: _____________

NOTE: Adopted July 29, 2004, effective September 13, 2004. Amended

February 8, 2005, effective March 28, 2005. Adopted July 21, 2006, effective

September 4, 2006.

RULE 1107

JUROR INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRES

RULE 1107.1

GENERAL

Confidential Juror Information Questionnaires (“questionnaires”) will be

maintained securely in the office of the Jury Commissioners. The juror questionnaires

shall not constitute a public record.

RULE 1107.2

COPIES

Complete and accurate copies of the original questionnaires (“copies”) shall be

collated into numbered binders, which shall be available only to judges, attorneys for the

Commonwealth and defendants’ attorneys. Attorneys and judges may examine copies

prior to jury selection by making arrangements with the designated custodian. The

Court Administrator shall be the official custodian. Copies shall be made available from

and returned to the office of the Court Administrator. Copies shall not constitute public

records.

RULE 1107.3

RESTRICTIONS

Copies shall not be removed from the designated area except upon prior court

order for good cause shown. The designated area shall be any courtroom. Copies shall

not be duplicated, distributed or published. Defendants shall not be furnished copies of

the questionnaires unless they are unrepresented by counsel at trial.

RULE 1107.4

DISPOSITIONS OF QUESTIONNAIRES AND COPIES

(a) Impaneled jurors; original questionnaires. All original questionnaires

of all impaneled jurors shall be retained by the Jury Commissioners in a sealed file and

shall be destroyed (1) year after the trial session in which they were selected, unless

otherwise ordered by the Court.

(b) Impaneled jurors; copies. At the completion of selection of all juries for

each trial session, all copies shall be returned to the Jury Commissioners and

destroyed, unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge upon timely request of any

unrepresented defendant, any defendant’s attorney, or the attorney for the

Commonwealth.

(c) Jurors not impaneled. All original and all copies of questionnaires of all

jurors not impaneled and not selected for any trial shall be destroyed upon completion

of the jurors’ service.

RULE 1107.5

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRES

The Jury Commissioners are hereby authorized to require the completion of a

supplemental confidential juror information questionnaire mandated by Pa.R.Crim.P.

1107.

RULE 1107.6

COMPLETION OF QUESTIONNAIRES AND SUPPLEMENTAL

QUESTIONNAIRES.

The Jury Commissioners shall develop appropriate procedures for distributing or

mailing, collecting, collating, copying, binding, maintaining, securing and destroying

questionnaires, supplemental questionnaires and all copies, as provided and required

by law. The Jury Commissioner shall, in writing, inform jurors of the procedures for

maintaining confidentiality of the questionnaires.

NOTE: Adopted September 2, 1999, effective October 25, 1999.

RULES OF

JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION

OF THE

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

OF

FAYETTE COUNTY,

PENNSYLVANIA

RULES OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION

RULE 101

TITLE AND CITATION OF RULES

All rules of judicial administration adopted by the Court of Common Pleas of

Fayette County, Pennsylvania, shall be known as the Fayette County Rules of Judicial

Administration and may be cited as “F.C.R.J.A. _____.”