MEETING MINUTES
February 1, 2010
Attendance
Present were: Judge Lovecchio, Judge McCoy, Court Administrator, Kevin Way, Prothonotary, Richard Callahan, Michael Collins, Roan Confer, Jr., Robert Cronin, Charles Greevy, III, Bradley Hillman, William Knecht, Edward Mitchell, John Person, Michael Wiley, David Wilk, E.J. Rymsza.
Old Business
The implementation of a court website is in progress.
Judge McCoy has met with family court lawyers and exchanged information on pending changes in the procedure for processing family court matters.
Changes in locations of judges’ offices have been completed. Judge Butts is in Courtroom #l. Judge Anderson is in Courtroom #2. Judge Gray is in Courtroom #3. Judge Lovecchio is in Courtroom #4. Judge McCoy is in Courtroom #5. Senior Judge Smith is in the Court Administrator’s Office. Senior Judges Brown and Kieser are in the Domestic Relations Offices.
Forms for use in the Prothonotary’s office have been revised to eliminate social security numbers. Revisions of forms for filing in the register and recorder’s office have been discussed with the Register and Recorder
New Business
Local Rule 205.2. There was a lengthy discussion concerning the provision in Local Rule 205.2 providing for printing on both sides of the paper. The Prothonotary requests the provision be deleted because printing on both sides of the paper interferes with a method of electronic storage of documents which he desires to implement. A discussion indicated a consensus of the attorney members of the committee in favor of deletion of the provision.
Follow-up investigation disclosed that the provision had been implemented by the Court without input from the local rules committee. Further follow-up investigation disclosed that the local rule is in violation of Pa.R.C.P. 204.1(5) which provides that “The lettering shall be only on one side of a page, except that exhibits and similar supporting documents may be lettered on both sides of the page.”
Attendance of Jurors. There has been a decline in attendance of panel members on jury selection days. The Court will undertake educational programs to make jurors more aware of the importance of their attendance.
Numbers of Copies. An original and one copy of motions, briefs, and pretrial memos satisfies the needs of the Court and the Prothonotary.
Mortgage Foreclosures. There was a discussion of whether any remedial measures should be implemented in mortgage foreclosure procedures. The Philadelphia procedures are being used as a model. There was no consensus concerning a need for further remedial measures.
Underage Drinking Alternative Disposition. It was reported that some police officers refuse to consent to the use of the alternative disposition program in connection with underage drinking arrests. The consensus was that police officers should not have a veto over the use of the alternative disposition program in appropriate cases.
Prior Record Scores. There was a discussion concerning the difficulty criminal defense attorneys have in obtaining the prior record score. The information is necessary to determine the degree of the offense. It was suggested that the District Attorney’s office should be more cooperative in obtaining and providing the prior record scores in connection with pending prosecutions.
Case Management. It was pointed out that defense attorneys are not receiving copies of the case management cover sheets filed with the civil case complaints and case management orders being issued by the Court in response to the Plaintiff’s case management requests.
Follow-up by Judge Anderson has revealed that there was not in place a uniform method of issuing and serving case management orders. A uniform procedure will be implemented.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be May 3, 2010 at noon at the Ross Club.
Respectfully submitted,
C. Edward S. Mitchell, Chairman