Pennsylvania Code
Title 234 - RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Chapter 5 - PRETRIAL PROCEDURES IN COURT CASES
Part E - Indicting Grand Jury
Rule 556 - Indicting Grand Jury
Universal Citation: 234 PA Code ยง 556
Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 38, September 21, 2024
(A) Each of the several courts of common pleas may proceed with an indicting grand jury pursuant to these rules only in cases in which witness intimidation has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur.
(B) Any court of common pleas seeking to resume the use of indicting grand juries pursuant to these rules shall petition the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in the following form:
(1) The petition shall identify the
petitioner, who shall be either the president judge or a designee, and the
judicial district. If the petition is seeking permission to resume the use of
indicting grand juries in a two-county judicial district, and the indicting
grand jury is sought for only one county, that county shall be identified in
the petition. The president judge's designee shall be a member of the court of
common pleas of the judicial district.
(2) The petition shall aver that the
petitioner has reviewed the district attorney's certificate required under
paragraphs (B)(4) and (5) and the petitioner agrees with the averments
contained therein.
(3) An original
and 2 copies of the petition shall be filed, and shall bear an original
signature of the petitioner.
(4)
There shall be appended to the petition a certificate from the district
attorney for the judicial district or, in the case of a two-county judicial
district, a certificate from the district attorney or district attorneys for
the county or counties within the judicial district.
(5) The district attorney's certificate shall
contain:
(a) The name and county of the
district attorney;
(b) an averment
that witness intimidation has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur in
the judicial district or, in the case of a two-county district where an
indicting grand jury is sought for only one county, the county;
(c) An averment that the district attorney
believes that an indicting grand jury will remedy the problem of witness
intimidation; and
(d) The original
signature of the district attorney.
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