In re: 1st Judicial District (Phila. County)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT

IN RE: FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF : No. 21 EM 2020 PENNSYLVANIA : :

ORDER

PER CURIAM AND NOW, this 2nd day of July, 2021, the Request Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A.

1952(B)(2)(m) is GRANTED. With respect to President Judge Idee C. Fox’s request to suspend, through August 31, 2021, Rule of Criminal Procedure 1013, we observe that on March 17, 2020, President Judge Fox issued Administrative Order No. 10 of 2020, which declared that “[t]ime calculations for the purposes of time computation relevant to court cases or other judicial business, as well as time deadlines, are suspended pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Judicial Administration 1952(B).” Administrative Order No. 10, 3/17/2020 at ¶1. Based on this authority, and the subsequent orders extending it, we grant the President Judge’s request to continue suspending Rules of Criminal Procedure and 1013, as well as any procedural rules related to the use of advanced communication technology (ACT) in court proceedings, through August 31, 2021. Judges shall be present in the courthouse, judicial center, or other court facility whenever a proceeding is being conducted by ACT, except for extraordinary circumstances, such as when court properties have been closed due to inclement weather or other emergency under Pa.R.J.A. Nos. 1950-1954, or when a proceeding is not being conducted during normal business hours.

Justice Donohue notes her dissent.