Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 50, December 14, 2024
Rule 703 - Reports of Judges(a)Policy Statement. It is the policy of the unified judicial system that any matter at any stage of a proceeding be brought to a fair conclusion as promptly as possible, consistent with the character of the matter and the resources of the system. The requirements of this rule further specify and implement this policy in keeping with the Court's constitutionally mandated responsibility to oversee the prompt and proper disposition of the business of the Pennsylvania courts.(b)General Rule.(1) Every judge shall keep a record of each matter that has been submitted to the judge for decision and which remains undecided.(2) Every judge shall compile a semi-annual report stating whether the judge has any matter that has been submitted to the judge for decision and remains undecided for ninety days or more as of the last day of the reporting period. Each report shall include matters listed on prior reports which remain undecided.(i)Decision includes the grant or denial of a pretrial, post-trial, or post-sentence motion or petition, non-jury verdict or decision, entry of an order or judgment, imposition of a sentence, or the filing of an opinion. A matter is submitted for decision even though briefs, transcripts, or reports have been ordered but have not yet been filed.(ii)Judge means a judge of a court of common pleas or a judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, active or senior, commissioned six months or longer.(3) If there are no matters submitted to the judge which remain undecided for ninety days or more, the report shall so state.(c)Form and Content of Report.(1) The report shall be prepared on a form supplied by the Administrative Office or generated by the computer system of the judge's court in the same format as the form supplied by the Administrative Office.(2) The report shall be signed by the judge.(3) For each matter which remains undecided ninety days or more, the report shall state: (i) the type, caption, and number of the case;(ii) the nature of the matter;(iii) the date of submission to the judge;(iv) the specific reason(s) for the delay; and(v) the specific steps taken to remedy the delay.(d)Filing.(1) The report covering the preceding period of July 1 through December 31 shall be filed on or before January 20, and the report covering the preceding period of January 1 through June 30 shall be filed on or before July 20.(2) Whenever January 20 or July 20 falls on Saturday or Sunday, or on any day made a legal holiday by the laws of this Commonwealth or of the United States, the date for filing shall be the next business day.(3) The judge shall file the original report with the Court Administrator, and shall file copies of the report with the president judge and the district court administrator of the court on which the judge serves.(4) Senior judges or active judges serving in more than one judicial district shall file one consolidated report with the Administrative Office, and shall file copies of the consolidated report with the president judge and the district court administrator for each judicial district in which the judge has matters that have been submitted for decision.(e)Supplemental Statement by President Judge.(1) A president judge, at the request of the Court Administrator, shall supplement a judge's report with a separate statement of any circumstances affecting the matters reported.(2) Within thirty days of the president judge's receipt of the request from the Court Administrator, any supplemental statement shall be filed with the Court Administrator, the judge who filed the report, and the district court administrator.(f)Public Inspection. Copies of all reports and supplemental statements filed pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (e) shall be made available by the Court Administrator and the district court administrator for public inspection and copying.(g)Report to Judicial Conduct Board.(1) The Court Administrator shall immediately notify the Judicial Conduct Board if a judge fails to file a timely report as required by this rule.(2) The Court Administrator shall, where appropriate, forward to the Judicial Conduct Board any report which includes one or more matters which have remained undecided for one year or more.The provisions of this Rule 703 adopted March 21, 1972; amended March 7, 1973, 3 Pa.B. 441; effective 3/21/1972; amended January 28, 1997, effective immediately, with the first report due on or before July 21, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 794.Amended by Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol 53, No. 31. August 5, 2023, effective 8/5/2023