Union Cnty. C.P. Local Rules 3

bail in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Only the Clerk of Courts shall accept the posting of realty.

17CR0574 MOTIONS—REPRESENTATIONS TO THE COURT

All motions filed with the Court must be written, shall contain a certification by counsel

for the movant, or by the movant if not represented by counsel, that he or she has sought

concurrence in the motion from each party, and that it has been either given or denied. No

motion shall be filed without a certification of concurrence or nonconcurrence. Every motion

which has been concurred with by all parties shall be accompanied by a form of order which, if

approved by the Court, would grant the relief sought in the motion. Every motion that is not

concurred with by all parties shall be accompanied by a form of order which includes alternative

provisions for either a rule returnable for answer only or to schedule a date for hearing and

argument before the court.

Effective, 20

17CR576.1 Electronic Filing in Criminal Dockets

A. The County Clerk of Courts Office and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania

Court (AOPC) agreed upon an implementation plan for PACFile in Union County for certain

criminal filings. Legal papers may be filed electronically using the PACFile electronic filing

system pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 576.1. Electronic filing is permissive and not mandatory.

B. As used in this rule, the following words shall have the following meanings:

i. “electronic filing,” the electronic submission of legal papers by means other than

facsimile

transmission and the acceptance of the document by the clerk of courts;

ii. “filing party,” an attorney, defendant, plaintiff, or other person who files a legal paper by

means of electronic filing;

ii. “legal paper,” a pleading or other submission to the court, including motions, answers,

notices or other documents, of which filing is required or permitted, including orders,

copies of exhibits, and attachments. The following documents are excluded from the

definition of “legal paper” and are therefore prohibited from being filed electronically:

(1) applications for search warrants,

(2) applications for arrest warrants,

(3) any grand jury materials, except the indicting grand jury indictment or the

investigating grand jury presentment,

(4) submission filed ex parte as authorized by law,

(5) submissions filed or authorized to be filed under seal, and

(6) exhibits offered into evidence, whether or not admitted, in a court proceeding;

iv. “original document,” a legal paper filed electronically shall be deemed the original

document, but copies of exhibits electronically filed do not constitute the original of the

exhibit for evidentiary purposes; and

v. “the system” the PACFile electronic filing system, developed and administered by the

Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, is the exclusive system for electronic

filing.

C. Attorneys or self-represented parties who file legal papers electronically must establish

a PACFile account using the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania Web Portal.

Pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 576.1 (D)(2), the establishment of

the PACFile account constitutes consent to participate in electronic filing, including

acceptance of service electronically of any document filed using PACFile.

D. Applicable filing fees for the electronically filed legal papers shall be paid

electronically to the Clerk of Courts simultaneously with the filing.

E. A party who was granted In Forma Pauperis status shall not pay filing fees to the

Clerk of Courts.

F. All filings shall comply with the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified

Judicial System of Pennsylvania.

H. Service of Legal Papers:

(a) Attorneys or self-represented parties who are unable and unwilling to

participate electronic filing of documents are permitted to file and serve the legal papers

in a physical paper format.

(b) Service of legal papers on any attorney or party who has not established an

Account as provided in subsection (C ) of this rule shall be made in accordance

with Pa.R.Crim.P.576. Specially, the following offices must be served in

accordance with Rule 576: Court Administration, Probation, Sheriff and Court

Reporter. This applies to the service of court orders and notices. Distribution to

those parties not automatically served via PACFile with a court order or notice

must be filed with the Clerk of Courts office with a complete distribution ledger

listing the names and addresses of all parties required to be served with a paper

copy.

(c) Service upon an attorney or defendant participating in the system shall be done

electronically.

17CR5102. Custody of Exhibits.

(a) Scope. Local rule 5102 is hereby issued to align the practice and procedure in the Court

of Common Pleas for the 17th Judicial District with Pa.R.J.A. 5101 – 5105. These local

rules incorporate the terms of art and their definitions as set forth in Pa.R.J.A. 5101(a).

These local rules do not apply to any record hearing which may be appealed de novo to

the Court of Common Pleas or upon which exceptions or objections can be filed to the

Court of Common Pleas.

(b) Custodian. The proponent of any exhibit being offered into evidence shall be its

custodian. The custodian is responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the exhibit(s)

until the conclusion of the proceedings.

(c) Format of Exhibits. The custodian shall ensure that the format of an exhibit, including

size and material, is compatible with the records office’s ability to maintain and retrieve

it. This includes the following: (i) offering as an exhibit an 8 ½ by 11 inch copy of any

oversized (larger than 8 ½ by 11 inches) documentary evidence; (ii) offering as an exhibit

copies of any voluminous documentary evidence on a digital storage device; and (iii)

offering any digital media (e.g., video and/or audio recordings) as an exhibit on a digital

storage device in a format that uses publicly available software for retrieval, or includes

any propriety software necessary for retrieval.

(d) Submission to the Court. Unless instructed otherwise by the presiding judge, the

custodian shall submit any exhibits to the Court at the conclusion of the court proceeding

in order to ensure that the exhibits are filed with the records office for incorporation into

the docket within the next five business days. The custodian shall submit to the Court a

numbered list of exhibits offered into evidence that includes the following: (i) a textual

description or identification of each exhibit; and (ii) whether the exhibit was admitted

into or rejected from evidence by the Court.

(e) Retention by the Custodian. Unless instructed otherwise by the presiding judge, the

custodian shall retain custody after the conclusion of court proceedings of the following:

(i) non-documentary evidence (i.e., physical evidence including, but not limited to,

clothing, weapons, cash or other items of value, drugs, and dangerous or biohazardous

materials); or (ii) evidence that is bulky, oversized or otherwise impractical for the

records office to store/maintain. In such cases, the custodian shall ensure that a

photograph (no larger than 8 ½ by 11 inches) of such evidence is offered as an exhibit

and included in the index of exhibits.

17CR9756-UC Reentry Plan

UNION COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

REENTRY PLAN

I--Sentencing Considerations

The Court of Common Pleas of and for Union County, in collaboration with the Union County

Probation Department have created this reentry plan with a focus on certain attainable goals.

First and foremost are the rehabilitative needs of the offender. Clearly all offenders sentenced to

periods of confinement in our county jail will eventually be returned to the community. Most of

these individuals will be reintegrated into the community as part of a parole plan, while a very

small percentage of offenders will serve their maximum sentence in confinement and will be

returned to the community without the benefit of a structured parole plan. In either case, the

likelihood the individual will be successful in a return to society is increased dramatically if their

rehabilitative needs are accurately identified and addressed while they are still in confinement.

Secondly, the Court must impose a sentence consistent with the protection of the public.

Therefore, it is absolutely essential that individuals referred to the Union County Probation

Department be subjected to a comprehensive Risk/Needs Assessment. This assessment shall be

performed on all individuals referred to the field agency regardless of the manner in which their

case is disposed. In cases where the Court has imposed a sentence of probation or intermediate

punishment, there is a reasonable expectation that the individual is perceived to present a low

risk to the public. Those individuals sentenced to confinement generally present an elevated risk

to the public and through an approved assessment tool probation staff can identify areas of

concern. Measures can then be taken to reduce those risk factors while the individual remains

incarcerated.

Thirdly, when imposing a sentence of confinement the Court shall "consider the gravity of the

offense as it relates to the impact on the life of the victim and on the community." This

consideration moves a more punitive sentence to the forefront and places less emphasis on the

rehabilitative needs of the offender or the risks the individual presents to the community at large.

Nevertheless, planning for the eventual reentry of the individual into the community should

begin immediately upon sentence commencement and shall include a Risk/Needs Assessment,

goal identification and implementation of programming.

Finally, the inherent costs associated with housing inmates in the county jail must be weighed

against the punitive and rehabilitative needs of the offender and the risks the individual poses to

the public. Due to the limited capacity of the Union County Jail, the institutional population is

constantly well beyond 100%, resulting in inmates being housed in neighboring county jails at

per diems ranging from $ 60 to $ 100. If the risks and needs of the offender can be addressed

short of incarceration, sentences of probation or intermediate punishment should be considered.

If incarceration remains the most viable option, then reentry of the offender into the community

must be given forethought and planning from the time of sentence commencement.

II--Programming

Among the most common obstacles facing Union County inmates are drug and/or alcohol

addiction, lack of education, inadequate or no available housing, poor employment records

coupled with lack of job skills, limited life skills and an absence of a positive support network.

Additionally, some inmates struggle with mental health disorders including anger issues and/or

poor impulse control. Many of these individuals are without the resources needed to obtain

appropriate treatment and/or prescription medications.

Union County is fortunate to be in a somewhat unique position. In 2012, the county implemented

a day reporting program which now provides programming for many of the obstacles facing

inmates as they prepare for reentry. In April of 2013, all programming was moved to the Day

Reporting Center at 480 Hafer Road, Lewisburg, PA. In a sense, Union County provides "one

stop shopping" in a building which previously housed the local Army Reserve Unit. Unlike many

county day reporting programs, Union County not only owns the facility and the five acres of

land on which it sits, but they also employ the staff providing oversight for the various programs.

Full time employees with offices at the Day Reporting Center include a program director, two

adult probation officers (one whose primary focus is community service), a maintenance

supervisor, and an administrative assistant. Contracted services provided at the center include

G.E.D. instruction through the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Retail Theft Prevention

contracted through the National Association For Shoplifting Prevention and Drug and Alcohol

Counseling contracted through Gaudenzia, Inc. Additional non-contracted services include life

skills through the Community Action Agency, job search using computers linked to Career Link,

coordination of community service both on grounds and off, and Anger Management and Credit

counseling as needed.

III--Reentry

In determining an offender's eligibility to participate in a formal reentry program, the Union

County Probation Department (UCPD) shall first consider the criteria set forth under 61

Pa.C.S.A. 4503. If the offender meets these eligibility requirements the court shall, when

imposing sentence, designate the offender as being eligible for formal reentry. Additionally, the

sentencing authority shall order the offender to successfully participate in any and all mandated

treatment or programming as directed by the UCPD. Any failure to do so will result in the

offender's eligibility to participate in formal reentry being revoked as herein described.

(Appendix A)

The general requirements for formal reentry shall include but may not be limited to the

following:

1. The UCPD certified that it has conducted an appropriate assessment of the treatment needs

and risks of the inmate using a standardized assessment tool.

2. The UCPD certified that it developed a program plan based on the assessment conducted

under paragraph 1, that is designed to reduce the risk of recidivism through the use of

Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive (RRRI) programs authorized and approved by the Court.

3. The UCPD advised the inmate that he or she is required to successfully participate in the

designated treatment and/or programs and successfully complete same.