Venango Cnty. C.P. Local Criminal Rules Promulgation (introduction)

IN THE MATTER OF THE: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

PROMULGATION OF LOCAL RULES: VENANGO COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, :

: MD. No. 81-2008

ORDER OF THE COURT

AND NOW, December 16, 2008, it is hereby ORDERED and DECREED that

Venango County Court of Common Pleas Local Rules of Criminal Procedure 101, 102,

105, 106, 117, 118, 120, 122, 131, 131.1, 211, 507, 528, 528.1, 528.2, 536, 602, 700, and

904 are adopted. These rules shall be continuously available for public inspection and

copying in the office of the prothonotary/clerk of courts. Upon request and payment of

reasonable costs of reproduction and mailing, the prothonotary/clerk shall furnish to any

person a copy of any local rule. The said local rules shall become effective and

enforceable thirty (30) days after the date of publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

BY THE COURT,

OLIVER J. LOBAUGH, President Judge

V.C.R.Crim.P. 101. Construction

These rules shall be construed using the same rules of construction used in

construing the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.

V.C.R.Crim.P. 102. Citing the Local Rules of Criminal Procedure

These rules shall be cited as "V.C.R.Crim.P. ___."

V.C.R.Crim.P. 105. Local Rules. Noncompliance

No case shall be dismissed nor request for relief granted or denied because of failure

to comply with one or more of these local rules. In any case of noncompliance, the

Court will alert the party to the specific provision at issue and will provide a

reasonable time for subsequent compliance.

V.C.R.Crim.P. 106. Continuance for Preliminary Hearings

(A) The court or issuing authority may, in the interest of justice, grant a

continuance on its own motion, or on the motion of either party.

(B) A motion for continuance shall be filed on a form as provided by the Central

Court Administrator.

(C) The Central Court Administrator shall have authority to grant or deny a

motion for continuance filed prior to the date set for the preliminary

hearing.

(D) The party requesting or opposing the continuance shall have the right to a

review of the Central Court Administrator’s decision by the issuing authority

if there is an objection to the decision of the Central Court Administrator.

(E) The presiding Magisterial District Judge shall rule on any motion for

continuance filed on the date scheduled for the preliminary hearing.

(F) On all cases continued, where the defendant is currently being held on bail,

the presiding Magisterial District Judge or issuing authority shall review bail

contemporaneously with the motion for continuance.

V.C.R.Crim.P. 117. Continuous Availability of Issuing Authority

To ensure continuous availability of issuing authorities to provide the services

required by the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, the following on-call

system of coverage is established by local rule.

Each Magisterial District Judge (MDJ) shall be available to provide services for his or

her judicial district on a 24 hour basis from Monday at 8:30 a.m. through Friday at

4:30 p.m.

After-hours coverage for the entire Twenty-Eighth Judicial District shall be from

Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. through the following Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Coverage

shall be by one MDJ that shall be determined on a rotating schedule to be distributed

prior to the beginning of each calendar year.

If a MDJ will not be available at any time that he or she may otherwise be required

to be available to provide services, the MDJ shall make arrangements with another

MDJ to provide coverage during such period of unavailability. Notice of any change

in coverage shall be sent/faxed to each police agency, the 911 Emergency

Management Agency, and the Venango County Court Administrator.

For purposes of availability under Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal procedure 431(c),

Bench Warrants, during regular business hours (8:30 – 4:30, Monday through

Friday), the issuing authority shall determine availability to conduct a bench warrant

hearing. After regular business hours, or if the issuing authority is unavailable to

conduct a bench warrant hearing during regular business hours, the case shall

proceed as if it were a court case in accordance with the procedures set forth in

Pa.R.Crim.P. 150.

V.C.R.Crim.P. 118. Use of Two-Way Simultaneous Advanced Communication Technology in

Criminal Proceedings

(A) The issuing authority may use two-way simultaneous audio-visual

communication at any criminal proceeding authorized by Pa.R.Crim.P.

118.

(B) For Preliminary Arraignments on arrest without warrant, the arresting

agency shall fax a signed copy of the criminal complaint along with the

bail questionnaire to the issuing authority. The issuing authority shall

prepare all necessary documents and fax them to the arresting agency.

The defendant shall be provided a copy of all documents. The video-conference call shall then be conducted between the defendant and the

issuing authority. The arresting agency shall deliver to the issuing

authority the original signed criminal complaint the next business day.

(C) For Preliminary Arraignments on arrest with a warrant, the arresting

agency shall fax a copy of the criminal complaint, bail questionnaire, and

signed served warrant to the issuing authority. The procedure will then

follow subsection B.

(D) For Search Warrants, the requesting agency shall contact the issuing

authority and arrange for a video-conference call. At such time as the

video-conference call, the affiant shall swear to the affidavit of probable

cause and then sign the search warrant application. The affiant will then

fax the signed search warrant application to the issuing authority. The

issuing authority will then issue or decline the application for search

warrant and shall fax back to the affiant the completed search warrant.

The affiant shall deliver to the issuing authority the original signed

search warrant application the next business day.

(E) For Arrest Warrants, the affiant and issuing authority shall follow the

same procedure as set forth in subsection D.

V.C.R.Crim.P. 120. Representation, Appearance

An attorney who is representing a defendant at the time of the scheduled preliminary

hearing at Venango County Central Court shall enter his/her appearance of record in

the Venango County Court of Common Pleas on the form provided. An entry of

appearance is not required if the entire court case is dismissed, withdrawn, or

otherwise not held for the Court of Common Pleas of Venango County, Pennsylvania.

Upon failure of counsel to enter his or her appearance, it shall be entered into the

record by the Magisterial District Court. Thereafter, withdrawals of appearance by

counsel shall be in accordance with Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 120.

V.C.R.Crim.P. 122. Appointment of Counsel

(A) Counsel shall be appointed: