Pennsylvania Code
Title 234 - RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Chapter 1 - SCOPE OF RULES, CONSTRUCTION AND DEFINITIONS, LOCAL RULES
Part E - Miscellaneous Warrants
Rule 150 - Bench Warrants
Universal Citation: 234 PA Code ยง 150
Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(A) In a court case when a bench warrant is executed, the case is to proceed in accordance with the following procedures.
(1)
When a defendant or witness 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.
(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, if the bench warrant
hearing cannot be conducted promptly after the arrest, the defendant or witness
shall be lodged in the county jail pending the hearing. The authority in charge
of the county jail promptly shall notify the court 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 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 on that bench warrant.
(a) When the bench warrant is issued by the
supervising judge of a "multi-county" investigating grand jury, the individual
shall be detained only until the supervising judge is available to conduct the
bench warrant hearing.
(b) In all
other cases, the individual shall not be detained without a bench warrant
hearing on that 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 (A)(5)(b), the bench warrant shall expire
by operation of law.
(B) As used in this rule, "judicial officer" is limited to the magisterial district judge or common pleas court judge who issued the bench warrant, or the magisterial district judge or common pleas court judge designated by the president judge or by the president judge's designee to conduct bench warrant hearings, or in Philadelphia, trial commissioners and Philadelphia Municipal Court judges.
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