Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 52, December 28, 2024
(A) The
trial shall be held before the Court and shall be open to the public.
(B) Conduct of Trial.
(1) All testimony shall be under
oath.
(2) The Board and the
Judicial Officer shall be permitted to present evidence and examine and
cross-examine witnesses. The Judicial Officer may, but shall not be required
to, testify.
(3) At the conclusion
of the trial, the Board and the Judicial Officer may, at the request of the
Court, present oral argument and shall submit proposed findings of fact and
conclusions of law.
(4) The trial
shall be recorded verbatim. Requests and orders for transcripts shall be
governed by Pa.R.J.A. 5000.5. Any party requesting notes of testimony shall
bear the cost of transcription. When the notes of testimony have been
transcribed, the court reporter shall first submit the transcript to the Clerk.
Following receipt and review of the transcript, the Clerk shall lodge the
transcript and shall inform the court reporter of said lodging. In no instance
shall the court reporter provide a version of the transcript to a requesting
party until the transcript is lodged, and the Clerk has informed the court
reporter and the parties that the transcript has been lodged.
(C) Any witness shall have the
right to be represented by counsel, but the witness' counsel shall not
participate in the trial except by permission of the Court.
(D) Stipulations of Fact.
(1) In lieu of a trial, the parties may
submit to the Court stipulations as to all facts necessary to a decision of the
issues in the case. The stipulations shall be binding upon the parties and may
be adopted by the Court as the facts of the case upon which a decision shall be
rendered. When submitted, the stipulations shall be accompanied by a signed
waiver of any right to trial granted under the Constitution and the Rules of
this Court.
(2) The parties may
submit stipulations as to issues of fact, but which do not resolve all relevant
issues in the case. In this case, the parties shall be bound by the
stipulations and the Court may adopt them and proceed to trial on all remaining
factual issues.
(3) In the event
the Court rejects stipulations submitted under subsection (1) or (2) above, the
Court shall schedule a conference to determine whether the parties shall be
afforded the opportunity to submit revised stipulations or whether the case
should proceed to trial.
(E) Conclusions of Law.
At the close of the evidence, the parties may submit
suggested Conclusions of Law which the Court may consider in rendering the
decision, however, said conclusions when submitted are not binding upon the
Court.
(F) Withdrawal of
Complaints or Withdrawal of Counts.
The Board may file a motion to withdraw a Complaint or any
of the Counts in a Complaint, which, in either case, shall be supported by good
cause.
