Phil. Cnty. Pa. 540

As amended through December 18, 2021

Rule 540 - Preliminary Arraignment

(A) Preliminary arraignments shall be held 24/7/365, at the Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice, in accordance with Pa.R.Crim.P. No. 540. Information available to the Arraignment Court Magistrate through PARS may be relied upon by the Arraignment Court Magistrate, shall be included in the case file, and shall be accessible by the parties and the public as provided by the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. The Arraignment Court Magistrate shall include in the case file documentary exhibits, if any, introduced by the Commonwealth or defense counsel.

(B) Hospital bedside preliminary arraignments may be conducted between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM (or at such other times as authorized by the President Judge from time to time), in person or by using two-way simultaneous audio-visual communications as directed by the issuing authority or Arraignment Court Magistrate. Police shall direct all requests for bedside preliminary arraignments to the assigned Arraignment Court Magistrate at the Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice.

Phil. Cnty. Pa. 540

Former Rule 550 rescinded and new rule adopted by the Municipal Court Board of Judges on November 18, 2005; effective 3/15/2006. Rule renumbered as Rule 540 and amended on May 14, 2018; effective 7/1/2018. Comment added4/8/2019, effective 5/27/2019.

Comment: The Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedures only require the recording and transcription of court proceedings after the preliminary arraignment. See Pa.R.Crim.P. No. 1012 (A) and Pa.R.Crim.P. No. 115. Accordingly, preliminary arraignments conducted by Arraignment Court Magistrates will not be recorded or transcribed. However, the President Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court may direct that preliminary arraignments conducted by Arraignment Court Magistrates be recorded solely for quality control purposes. These recordings shall not be deemed a public record and shall not be available, discoverable or offered in evidence in any proceeding.