Pike Cnty. C.P. Local Rules Local Rule 571

1. Procedure for Arraignment

a. All arraignments shall be in accordance with Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal

Procedure 571.

b. The District Attorney’s Office is designated to handle the scheduling and

disposition of all arraignments unless otherwise directed by the Court.

c. Arraignment shall take place no later than ten (10) days after indictment or

information has been filed unless otherwise postponed by the Court for cause

shown.

d. The defendant and counsel, if an appearance has been entered, shall receive

written notice of the arraignment not later than five (5) days before the date

scheduled for the arraignment. Notice shall be given by first class mail to the last

known address of the defendant in accordance with the following:

ARRAIGNMENT

NOTICE TO APPEAR

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

v.

__________________________________

No. _____-20____

You are directed to appear under penalty of forfeiture of bail at the Pike County

Courthouse, Milford, Pennsylvania on the ____ day of ____________, 20___ at ____ __.M. for

arraignment.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. You have been directed to appear for arraignment. At the arraignment, you will be

advised of the nature of the charges against you, after which you are asked to state whether you plead

“guilty” or “not guilty”.

2. If you have an attorney, contact him/her immediately. If you do not have an attorney it

would be to your advantage to retain one without further delay. You have a right to be represented by a

lawyer. If you believe you cannot afford a lawyer, then you should immediately make application to the

Office of the Public Defender.

3. The arraignment procedure may be waived, making it unnecessary for you to appear as

scheduled above, BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL AND BOTH YOU AND

COUNSEL HAVE SIGNED A FORMAL WAIVER OF ARRAIGNMENT, and have properly filed that

waiver with the Court.

4. You may enter a plea of guilty to these charges. If you desire to plead guilty, notify the

District Attorney at the below address, and he will arrange for a guilty plea at the time of arraignment or at

a time to be scheduled following arraignment.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

PIKE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING

506 BROAD STREET

MILFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 18337

570-296-3482

e. A defendant who is represented by counsel may waive arraignment. When a

defendant represented by counsel waives arraignment prior to the scheduled

formal arraignment, the original waiver must be delivered to the Court

Administrators Office at least 48 hours prior to the arraignment date. The waiver

will be presented to the Court at the scheduled time for arraignment for Court

approval before the waiver is formally entered in the docket. Compliance with

these time periods shall excuse Defendant and counsel from appearance at the

scheduled arraignment. The time periods for filing the request for a bill of

particulars, the discovery motion and the omnibus pretrial motion shall begin and

be calculated from the date on which the Court approves the waiver. Waiver of

Arraignment shall be in accordance with the following form:

f. If a defendant is incarcerated in the Pike County Correctional Facility, the

arraignment shall be conducted by two-way simultaneous audio-visual

communication (i.e., video conferencing). If a defendant is incarcerated in

a facility other than Pike County Correctional Facility, the arraignment

may be conducted by video conferencing at the discretion of the Court.

g. If a defendant is unrepresented when he appears for arraignment, the Court

will reschedule the arraignment and defendant will be directed to

immediately apply for a Public Defender. The Public Defender will

determine whether the defendant is qualified for representation and, if so,

will undertake representation of the defendant. If the defendant fails to

qualify for Public Defender representation and appears at the rescheduled

arraignment unrepresented, the defendant will be formally arraigned at

that time by the Court.