Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 12, March 23, 2024
(a) If a party fails to
appear at a conference and/or hearing as directed by order of court, the court
may issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the party if it finds
(1) following a hearing on the record that
the party had actual notice that the party was ordered to attend the conference
and/or hearing, or
(2) upon the
affidavit of a hearing officer or conference officer that
(i) the order of court scheduling the
conference and/or hearing was served by ordinary mail with the return address
of the domestic relations section appearing thereon, that the mail was not
returned to the domestic relations section within fifteen days after mailing,
and that, at a date after the order of court was mailed, the domestic relations
section has verified through the U.S. Postal Service or by electronic means
that mail for the party was being delivered at the address to which the court
order was mailed; or
(ii) the party
signed a receipt indicating acceptance of a copy of the court order;
or
(iii) an employee of the court
handed a copy of the order to the party; or
(iv) a competent adult handed a copy of the
court order to the party, and filed an affidavit of service.
(b) The request for a
bench warrant shall be made by the domestic relations office within sixty days
following the party's failure to appear. The request shall be in the form
provided by Rule
1910.13 -2(b), and shall include
the hearing officer or conference officer's certification that the party has
not appeared for any domestic relations matter involving the same parties since
the date the party failed to appear.
(c) Upon appearance in court by a party on
the matter underlying the bench warrant, the bench warrant shall be vacated
forthwith and the notice shall be given to all computer networks into which the
bench warrant has been entered.
(d)
When a bench warrant is executed, the case is to proceed in accordance with the
following procedures.
(1) When an individual
is arrested pursuant to a bench warrant, he or she shall be taken without
unnecessary delay for a hearing on the bench warrant. The hearing shall be
conducted by the judicial officer who issued the bench warrant, or, another
judicial officer designated by the president judge or by the president judge's
designee to conduct bench warrant hearings. As used in this rule, "judicial
officer" is limited to the common pleas court judge who issued the bench
warrant, or common pleas court judge designated by the president judge or by
the president judge's designee to conduct bench warrant hearings.
(2) In the discretion of the judicial
officer, the bench warrant hearing may be conducted using two-way simultaneous
audio-visual communication.
(3)
When the individual is arrested in the county of issuance, and the bench
warrant hearing cannot be conducted promptly after the arrest, the individual
shall be lodged in the county jail pending the hearing. The authority in charge
of the county jail promptly shall notify the sheriff's office and the director
of the domestic relations section that the individual is being held pursuant to
the bench warrant.
(4) When the
individual is arrested outside the county of issuance, the authority in charge
of the county jail in the arresting county promptly shall notify the proper
authorities in the county of issuance that the individual is being held
pursuant to the bench warrant.
(5)
The bench warrant hearing shall be conducted without unnecessary delay after
the individual is lodged in the jail of the county of issuance of that bench
warrant. The individual shall not be detained without a hearing on the bench
warrant longer than 72 hours, or the close of the next business day if the 72
hours expires on a non-business day.
(6) At the conclusion of the bench warrant
hearing following the disposition of the matter, the judicial officer
immediately shall vacate the bench warrant.
(7) If a bench warrant hearing is not held
within the time limits in paragraph (d)(5), the bench warrant shall expire by
operation of law.
