Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 49, December 7, 2024
Rule 413 - Evidence of Immigration Status(a)Criminal or Delinquency Matters; Evidence Generally Inadmissible. In any criminal or delinquency matter, evidence of a party's or a witness's immigration status shall not be admissible unless immigration status is an essential fact to prove an element of, or a defense to, the offense, to show motive, or to show bias or prejudice of a witness pursuant to Rule 607. This paragraph shall not be construed to exclude evidence that would result in the violation of a defendant's or a juvenile's constitutional rights.(b)Civil Matters; Evidence Generally Inadmissible. In any civil matter, evidence of a party's or a witness's immigration status shall not be admissible unless immigration status is an essential fact to prove an element of, or a defense to, the action, or to show bias or prejudice of a witness pursuant to Rule 607.(c)Procedure. Unless a party did not know, and with due diligence could not have known, that evidence of immigration status would be necessary, the following procedure shall apply prior to any such proposed use of immigration status evidence: (1) The proponent shall file under seal and serve a written pretrial motion containing an offer of proof of the relevancy of the proposed evidence supported by an affidavit.(2) If the court finds that the offer of proof is sufficient, the court shall order an in camera hearing.(3) The court may admit evidence of immigration status pursuant to paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) if it finds the evidence is reliable and relevant, and that its probative value outweighs the prejudicial nature of evidence of immigration status.(d)Voluntary Revelation. This rule shall not prohibit a person, or the person's attorney, from voluntarily revealing his or her immigration status to the court.The provisions of this Rule 413 added August 11, 2021, effective 10/1/2021, 51 Pa.B. 6140.