Lancaster Cnty. C.P. Judge Leonard G. Brown III - Judge's Procedures (introduction)

PRESIDENT JUDGE LEONARD G. BROWN, III

JUDGE’S PROCEDURES (2026)

President Judge Brown was elected to the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas on

November 8, 2011, and was retained in 2021.

I. Courtroom Expectations

A. Conduct

I insist on punctuality and courtesy from counsel and self-represented parties to

the court and to each other, both in the presence of the court and otherwise.

Unless permission is granted otherwise, the examination of witnesses should be

conducted from the lectern or from counsel table either seated or standing.

Counsel and unrepresented parties should rise to address the court and should seek

permission of the court before approaching witnesses or the bench.

Counsel and unrepresented parties will direct all comments to the court or to the

witness under examination and not to other counsel or to the jury.

B. Consultation with Opposing Counsel

In general, I expect counsel to bring matters to my attention only after they have

been discussed with opposing counsel. When communicating with the court,

counsel shall be prepared to state the position of opposing counsel.

II. Injunctions

I require submission of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law for TRO and injunction

hearings. The court will set the time for submission of these items at a pre-hearing conference.

IV. Communication with the Court

I strongly discourage communication with my law clerk and judicial assistant. Inquiries

regarding civil cases should be directed to Court Administration (case scheduling) or the

Prothonotary (filing or case file content). Many questions can be answered via the Prothonotary’s

website which can be found at https://co.lancaster.pa.us/155/Prothonotary.gov.

Please do not write letters directly to the court, or send or designate copies of correspondence

among and between counsel to the court, except:

(1) When letters of transmittal accompany documents required by the court to be sent to

or filed with the court or with another official office in the courthouse;

(2) When counsel are specifically requested by the court to communicate some

information to the court by letter;

(3) When counsel are filing a joint request of the court to schedule or resolve a matter;

(4) When the participation of counsel in the case is expected to be affected by a personal

matter concerning counsel, a party, a witness, or counsel’s immediate family, such as

medical problems, vacation plans, or other similar personal problems or questions; or

(5) To confirm or advise the court that a case has been settled, dismissed, or otherwise

finally disposed.

All other written communications with the court concerning any case assigned to my calendar

should be done by the filing of a pleading, motion, application, brief, legal memorandum,

rule returnable, rule to show cause, or other similar filing provided for in the Pennsylvania

Rules of Civil or Criminal Procedure or our Local Rules of Civil or Criminal Procedure.

Do not write letters to the court that are properly the subject of these filings. The Court will not

respond to any correspondence that fails to comply with this policy and will merely forward such

correspondence to the Prothonotary.

When a written communication concerning a case cannot timely address a problem, counsel may

initiate necessary telephone communications with my chambers. Issues appropriately addressed

by telephone contact include:

(1) Scheduling of conferences or proceedings, including pretrial and trial conferences;

(2) Attendance of witnesses;

(3) Exhibit handling or arrangements for video replay;

(4) Arrangements for telephone conferences regarding discovery disputes; and

(5) Requests for absolutely necessary extensions of time to file any response, reply, brief,

memorandum of law, or the like.

V. Requests for Continuance

If a continuance is being requested with the agreement of both parties, the party seeking the

continuance shall submit to chambers a motion and proposed order. The motion shall include the

reason(s) for the continuance and should indicate that the opposing party is in agreement with the

continuance.

Continuances should be sought as soon as an issue arises affecting the party's or counsel's

presence in court. Emergency motions for continuance are those occurring within two business

days before a trial or hearing. The court expects that emergency requests for continuances will be

rare. Any emergency motion and proposed order may be submitted to chambers by email

(Judge_Brown_Chambers@lancastercountypacourt.gov ), or hand delivery.

VII. Pretrial Procedure – Civil Trials

A. Required Form of Pretrial Memoranda (See Appendix 2)

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the pretrial memorandum in non-family law court

cases should be prepared in accordance with the following items:

(1) A brief statement of the nature of the action and the basis on which the

jurisdiction of the court is invoked.

(2) Plaintiff's pretrial memorandum shall contain a brief statement of the facts of the

case. Defendant's pretrial memorandum shall contain such counter-statements of

the facts as may be necessary to reflect any disagreement with plaintiff's

statement. All parties shall omit pejorative characterizations, hyperbole, and

conclusory generalizations.

(3) A list of every item of monetary damages claimed, including (as appropriate)

computations of lost earnings and loss of future earning capacity, medical

expenses (itemized), property damages, etc. If relief other than monetary damages

is sought, information adequate for framing an order granting the relief sought.

(4) A list showing the names and addresses of all witnesses the party submitting the

memorandum intends to call at trial. Liability and damages witnesses shall be

designated separately.

(5) A schedule of all exhibits to be offered at trial by the party submitting the

memorandum.

(6) An estimate of the number of days required for trial.

(7) Special comments regarding legal issues, stipulations, amendments of pleadings,

or other appropriate matters.

(8) All stipulations of counsel.

(9) A statement of objection to:

(1) the admissibility of any exhibit based on authenticity;

(2) the admissibility of any evidence expected to be offered for any reason

(except relevancy);

(3) the adequacy of the qualifications of an expert witness expected to testify;

and

(4) the admissibility of any opinion testimony from lay witnesses pursuant to

Pennsylvania Rule of Evidence 701. Such objection shall describe with

particularity the ground and the authority for the objection.

(10) Deposition testimony (including videotaped deposition testimony) that the party

intends to offer during its case-in-chief. The statement should include citations to

the page and line number and the opposing party’s counter-designations.

(11) A list of all questions which counsel expects to ask in voir dire which are beyond

the areas of inquiry set forth in Pa.R.C.P. No. 220.3.

B. Final Preparation for Trial. In every case, counsel shall, before the commencement

of trial: