Lancaster Cnty. C.P. Local Rules Interactive Book Rule 590

A. Guilty pleas and pleas of nolo contendere shall be scheduled through the

Office of the District Attorney using the forms designated by that office for the scheduling

of pleas. When scheduling the plea, counsel shall inform the guilty plea secretary if and

where the defendant is incarcerated.

B. A completed Plea Scheduling Form, the form of which shall be published as

a part of these Local Rules as Local Rule 590-1, shall be presented to the District Attorney

before a plea is scheduled.

C. Once a plea is scheduled, it may only be rescheduled by submitting a

completed Request to Reschedule Plea form to the judge before whom the plea is

scheduled. If the request to reschedule is granted by the judge before whom the plea is

scheduled, the form will be forwarded to the District Court Administrator, who will

schedule the matter on that judge’s next available plea date or on the date specified by

the judge and indicated on the Request to Reschedule Plea form.

D. Any plea which is withdrawn shall be placed on the trial list of the judge

before whom the plea was scheduled at the time it was withdrawn. The case will be

deemed to be trial ready and will be assigned a trial date by the judge, who shall

determine trial priority in accordance with Local Rule 570C.

E. Rejected pleas shall be handled as follows:

1. If the case has not previously had a pretrial conference under Rule

570B, the District Court Administrator shall schedule the case for a pretrial

conference on the next available date with a judge other than the judge who

rejected the plea.

2. If the case has previously had a pretrial conference, the plea shall be

rescheduled. Counsel shall note on the Request to Reschedule Plea form that

the plea was rejected, the form will be forwarded to the District Court Administrator

and the plea will be rescheduled by the District Court Administrator with a different

judge on the next available plea date.

F. Prior to entering a guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere, a defendant shall

complete and sign a written plea colloquy on the form provided by the District Attorney.

The form shall be presented to the Court at the time of the plea hearing, together with the

completed Plea Scheduling form required by this Rule.

Revised 9-30-13 Effective 12-9-13