In Re: 1st Judicial District (Phila. County)

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT

IN RE: FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF : No. 21 EM 2020 PENNSYLVANIA :

:

ORDER

PER CURIAM AND NOW, this 4th day of October, 2021, the Request Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A.

1952(B)(2)(m) and (s), which seeks permission for the President Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court to suspend temporarily certain procedural rules, is GRANTED, IN PART.

The President Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court is authorized to suspend rules that restrict the use of advanced communication technology (ACT) in court proceedings, subject to state and federal constitutional limitations, through November 1, 2021.

Judges shall be present in the courthouse, judicial center, or other court facility whenever a proceeding is being conducted by ACT, except for extraordinary circumstances, such as when court properties have been closed due to inclement weather or other emergency under Pa.R.J.A. Nos. 1950-1954, or when a proceeding is not being conducted during normal business hours.

The request of the President Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court to suspend Rules of Criminal Procedure 600 and 1013 through November 15, 2021, is DEFERRED, pending further order of this Court. Any individual or entity interested in the President Judge’s request to suspend Rules 600 and 1013 through November 15, 2021, is allowed to file a reply in this Court. The deadline for such replies is October 12, 2021.

The Prothonotary is DIRECTED to serve this order on the Defender Association of Philadelphia, the District Attorney of Philadelphia, the Office of Attorney General, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

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