Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 12, March 23, 2024
(A)
Policy statement. It is the policy of the Unified Judicial
System that jurists are required to devote the necessary time and attention to
their judicial duties. Absences due to a judge's illness or physical or mental
disability shall not be abused and are subject to the review of the Supreme
Court as part of the Court's constitutionally mandated responsibility to
oversee the Unified Judicial System.
(B)
General rule.
(1)
Initial report of illness or
physical or mental disability. Any judge who, because of his or her
illness or physical or mental disability, is unable to substantially perform
his or her duties for a period of fifteen (15) days or more within any
thirty-day period shall provide a written report to the President Judge and to
the Court Administrator on a Rule 704 Report form supplied by the
Administrative Office.
(a)
Content of
the report. The report shall include a description of the nature of
the illness or physical or mental disability, the start date and expected
length of the absence, and a certification from the treating physician,
psychiatrist, or psychologist explaining how the illness or physical or mental
disability renders the judge unable to substantially perform his or her
duties.
(b)
Time for filing
the report. The report shall be submitted within ten (10) days of the
date the judge becomes aware he or she will be absent for fifteen (15) days or
more, but in any event no later than ten (10) days after the fifteenth day of
the judge's absence.
(2)
Subsequent reporting of continuing illness or physical or mental
disability. If a judge is unable to substantially perform his or her
duties for thirty additional days beyond an initial fifteen-day period, the
judge shall file, within ten (10) days after the thirty-day period, an updated
report, on a Rule 704 Report form supplied by the Administrative Office,
containing the information required in (B)(1)(a), except that the healthcare
professional's certification shall also state that the illness or physical or
mental disability persists and provide a medical opinion as to the judge's
anticipated return to service. Thereafter, the judge shall continue to file
reports every thirty (30) days for as long as the illness or physical or mental
disability persists.
(3)
Report of return to service. When a judge's illness or
physical or mental disability no longer persists, the judge shall, within ten
(10) days of returning to service, report to the President Judge and the Court
Administrator that he or she is able to substantially perform his or her
duties. If the judge will have any restrictions upon returning, he or she must
submit a Rule 704 Report that includes a physician's explanation of how such
restrictions may impact the judge's ability to substantially perform his or her
duties.
(4)
Duties of
President Judge.
(a) If a President
Judge is aware of a judge who has been unable to substantially perform his or
her duties for at least fifteen (15) days within any thirty-day period but has
not filed a report as required by this Rule, the President Judge shall
communicate by letter to the judge that a report must be submitted within ten
(10) days of the date of the letter. A copy of that letter shall be provided to
the Court Administrator. If no response is received from the judge, the Court
Administrator shall report the lack of response to the Supreme Court for
appropriate action.
If the illness or physical or mental disability is of such a
nature that the judge cannot submit any of the reports required by this Rule,
the President Judge shall make reasonable inquiry into the nature of the
illness or physical or mental disability and report the findings to the Court
Administrator, who shall inform the Supreme Court of those findings.
(b) If a President Judge believes
that a judge is suffering from an illness or physical or mental disability that
renders him or her incapable of substantially performing his or her judicial
duties, and that immediate action is warranted, the President Judge, after
consultation with the Court Administrator, may place the judge on
administrative leave. The Court Administrator shall promptly advise the Supreme
Court of any placements on administrative leave.
(c) When a President Judge is unable to
substantially perform his or her duties, the Court Administrator shall perform
the duties prescribed in (B)(4)(a) and (b).
(5)
Reporting to the Supreme
Court. The reports of any jurist who is unable to substantially
perform his or her duties for a cumulative period of at least ninety days in
any twelve-month period shall be forwarded by the Court Administrator to the
Supreme Court for appropriate action.
(6)
Request for Independent
Examination.
(a) A President Judge
may request that a judge who is unable to substantially perform his or her
duties submit to an independent physical, psychiatric, or psychological
examination. Such request shall be made in writing to the Court Administrator
and shall explain the reasons for an independent examination.
If the Court Administrator agrees that an independent
examination is justified, the President Judge shall inform the judge of the
name of the physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist who will conduct the
examination, and the judge shall submit to the examination within thirty (30)
days of receiving notice from the President Judge and must agree to waive
confidentiality protections so that the President Judge, Court Administrator
and Supreme Court can be provided with the results of the examination.
(b) The Court Administrator may
direct a jurist who is unable to substantially perform his or her duties to
submit to an independent examination. The Court Administrator shall inform the
jurist of the name of the physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist who will
conduct the examination, and the jurist shall submit to the examination within
thirty (30) days of receiving notice from the Court Administrator and must
agree to waive confidentiality protections so that the President Judge, Court
Administrator and Supreme Court can be provided with the results of the
examination.
(C)
Confidentiality. Any
reports submitted pursuant to this Rule shall be confidential and subject to
disclosure only to necessary judicial, administrative or disciplinary
personnel.
(D)
Definitions. For the purposes of this Rule:
(1)
Day means a calendar
day.
(2)
Judge
means a judge of a court of common pleas, Philadelphia Municipal Court, the
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, or a
magisterial district judge. For purposes of this Rule, judge does not include a
senior judge.
(3)
Jurist means both a judge and a President Judge.
(4)
President Judge means
the President Judge of a judicial district or, in the case of the Superior
Court of Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, or Philadelphia
Municipal Court, the President Judge of the court.
(5)
Substantially perform
means to carry out on a full-time basis the essential and assigned
responsibilities required of the judicial office.