Rule 117 - Availability Of Issuing AuthoritiesCoverage: Issuing Warrants; Preliminary Arraignments and Summary Trials; and Setting and Accepting Bail.
A. All Magisterial District Judge Offices shall be open for business Mondays through Fridays, excluding legal holidays, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM unless a change to these business hours is approved by the President Judge. Magisterial District Judges shall be available during these hours for all court business.B. Reading Central Court, a centralized preliminary hearing court designated as Magisterial District 23-0-02, shall be open every Friday beginning at 8:30 AM until preliminary hearings are completed, excluding legal holidays, in the Berks County Courthouse. 1. The Magisterial District Judges of Magisterial Districts 23-1-02, 23-1-03, 23-1-04, 23-1-05, 23-2-01 and 23-3-09 shall serve in Reading Central Court on a rotating basis in accordance with the schedule prepared by Special Courts Administration. If a Magisterial District Judge is unable to serve when scheduled for whatever reason, it shall be his/her responsibility to find a replacement and to notify Special Courts Administration.C. The Berks County Central Arraignment Court (BCCAC), an after hours court designated as Magisterial District 23-0-01, shall be open Mondays through Fridays, 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM the following day, each Saturday 9:00 AM to Sunday 6:00 AM, each Sunday 9:00 AM to Monday 6:00 AM, and all legal holidays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 AM the following day. 1. All Magisterial District Judges and/or Senior Magisterial District Judges on temporary assignment in the Twenty-Third Judicial District shall be scheduled in the BCCAC in accordance with the schedule prepared by Special Courts Administration and approved by the President Judge.2. A Magisterial District Judge or Senior Magisterial District Judge scheduled in the BCCAC shall be available to provide coverage for emergency petitions brought under the Protection from Abuse Act or the Older Adult Protective Services Act, the issuance of search warrants pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 203 and arrest warrants pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 513, accepting bail, and providing the services required by Pa.R.Crim.P. 117(A)(2)(a), (b), (c), and (d). If a Magisterial District Judge is unable to serve when scheduled for whatever reason, it shall be his/her responsibility to find a replacement and to notify Special Courts Administration and the Communications Center.D. All Magisterial District Judges shall be scheduled for countywide emergency duty in accordance with an emergency duty schedule prepared by Special Courts Administration and approved by the President Judge.1. The Magisterial District Judge on emergency duty shall provide continuous coverage for the issuance of search warrants pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 203 and arrest warrants pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 513 when the Magisterial District Judge Offices and the Berks County Central Arraignment Court are closed. If a Magisterial District Judge is unable to serve when scheduled for whatever reason, it shall be his/her responsibility to find a replacement and to notify Special Courts Administration and the Communications Center.E. Magisterial District Judges and the Clerk of Courts shall be authorized to accept bail in accordance with the provisions and subject to the limitations of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.Click here to view image