Internal Operating Procedures of the Supreme Court
1.
Introduction.
2.
Preamble.
3. Decisional
Procedures: Argued and Submitted Cases.
4.
Opinions.
5.
Non-Capital Direct Appeals.
6. [Allocaturs] Allowance of Appeal.
7.
Motions, Miscellaneous Petitions and Applications for Relief.
8.
Certification of Questions of Law.
9.
Photographing, Recording and Broadcasting of Supreme Court Proceedings by
the
Pennsylvania Cable Network (“PCN”).
10.
Communications to the Court in Pending Cases.
11.
Quorum.
12.
Suspension of Procedures.
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§ 6. [Allocaturs]Allowance of Appeal.
A. [Standards. Petitions for allowance of appeal (‘‘allocaturs’’)
may be granted for any of the following reasons:
1. the holding of the intermediate appellate court conflicts
with another intermediate appellate court opinion;
2. the holding of the intermediate appellate court conflicts
with a holding of this Court or the United States Supreme Court on the same
legal question;
3. the question presented is one of first impression;
4. the question presented is one of such substantial public
importance as to require prompt and definitive resolution by this Court;
5. the issue involves the constitutionality of a statute of this
Commonwealth;
6. the intermediate appellate court has so far departed from
accepted judicial practices or so abused its discretion as to call for the exercise
of this Court's supervisory authority; or
7. the intermediate appellate court has erroneously entered an
order quashing or dismissing an appeal.
B.] Assignment. The Prothonotary shall initially screen [allocatur] petitions for
allowance of appeal for compliance with the applicable appellate rules. Untimely
petitions may be refused for filing by the Prothonotary without further action
of the Court.
Petitions
for allowance of appeal shall be assigned to individual Justices by the Prothonotary
on a rotating basis by seniority for preparation of an [allocatur]allowance of appeal report.
Petitions from the same district presenting the same question shall be
consolidated; petitions from different districts that present the same question
may be consolidated at the discretion of
the
Court.
[C.]B. Circulation and Disposition. [Allocatur]Allowance of appeal reports
shall be circulated within ninety (90) days of the receipt of such an
assignment. The proposed disposition date shall not be greater than sixty (60)
days from the date of circulation. Holds may be placed on [allocatur] petitions for
allowance of appeal only upon written notice to the members of the Court as to the
reasons for the hold, e.g., the existence of another petition from another
district presenting the same question. No hold may be placed on a petition
without the existence of a terminus, e.g., the issuance of an opinion on a
petition presenting the same question. Where a hold results from the existence
of another petition presenting the same issue, the parties shall be notified of
the hold and the case that will determine the issue. A hold for the purpose of
preparing a counter-report shall not exceed thirty (30) days; only by vote of
the majority may a hold be
extended
beyond thirty (30) days, but in no event shall a hold for such purpose exceed
ninety (90) days.
Notwithstanding
any contrary procedures set forth above, [allocatur]allowance
of appeal reports in Children’s Fast Track appeals are to be circulated
within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the assignment, and the proposed
disposition date shall not be greater than thirty (30) days from the date of
circulation. A hold for purposes of preparing a counter-report in a Children’s
Fast Track appeal shall not exceed fifteen (15) days; only by vote of the
majority may a hold be extended beyond fifteen (15) days, but in no event shall
a hold exceed forty-five (45) days.
Upon
the affirmative vote of three or more Justices, [allocatur]allowance of appeal will be
granted and the case will be listed for oral argument, unless the order
indicates that the matter will be submitted on the briefs. An order granting an
[allocatur] petition for allowance of appeal shall specify the issues upon which
[allocatur]allowance of appeal was
granted.
A per
curiam order granting [allocatur]allowance of
appeal and reversing an order of the lower court must cite to
controlling legal authority or provide a full explanation of the reasons for
reversal.
A
Justice may request that the order resolving the [allocatur] petition for
allowance of appeal record that he or she voted for a different disposition. All orders
shall indicate if a Justice did not participate in the consideration or decision
of the matter.
[D.]C. Reconsideration Applications.
1.
Assignment. The Prothonotary shall direct applications for reconsideration to
the Justice who authored the [allocatur]allowance
of appeal report.
2.
Circulation and Disposition. The assigned Justice shall circulate to the Court
a recommended disposition within fourteen (14) days of the date of the
assignment, or within seven (7) days of the date of assignment in Children’s
Fast Track appeals. A Justice who disagrees with the recommended disposition
shall circulate a counter-recommendation within fourteen (14) days of the
original recommendation, or within seven (7) days of the date of the original
recommendation in Children’s Fast Track appeals. A vote of the majority is
required to grant reconsideration. In
any
case in which reconsideration has been denied, a Justice may request that the
order record that he or she voted to grant reconsideration. All orders shall
indicate if a Justice did not participate in the consideration or decision of
the matter.
§ 7.
Motions, Miscellaneous Petitions, and Applications for Relief.
A.
Duties of Prothonotary. All assignments of motions, miscellaneous petitions and
applications for relief, including emergency motions and those requesting the exercise
of King's Bench powers, extraordinary jurisdiction and original jurisdiction,
shall originate in the Prothonotary's office. No motions, petitions or applications
will be considered which were not first filed in the Prothonotary’s office and
thence assigned. Documents may be filed in paper format, or by electronic or
facsimile transmission. Once received, motions, petitions and applications will
be monitored by the Prothonotary’s office for compliance with applicable
appellate rules. Proposed filings that are not in compliance will not be docketed.
Proposed filings that are in compliance will be docketed and a response will be
allowed. At the expiration of the response period the documents will be
forwarded to the Court.
Procedural
motions (e.g., requests for extension of time, requests to exceed page limits,
and requests to proceed in forma pauperis) may be resolved by the Prothonotary
without further action of the Court. Note: Time periods for responses*
FILING
RULE RESPONSE PERIOD
APPLICATION
FOR RELIEF (EXTENSIONS) 123 14 DAYS
JURISDICTIONAL
STATEMENT 909(b) 14 DAYS
PETITION
FOR [ALLOCATUR]ALLOWANCE OF APPEAL
1116 14 DAYS
PETITION
FOR [ALLOCATUR]ALLOWANCE OF
APPEAL
CHILDREN’S
FAST TRACK CASES 1116(b) 10 DAYS
RECONSIDERATION
1123 NO ANSWER PERMITTED
PETITION
FOR PERM. TO APPEAL 1314 14 DAYS
PETITION
FOR REVIEW 1516(c) 30 DAYS
N.B. NO
ANSWER REQUIRED UNLESS PETITION CONTAINS NOTICE TO PLEAD
APPLICATION
FOR RELEASE (BAIL) 1762 14 DAYS
REARGUMENT
2545 14 DAYS
ORIGINAL
PROCESS
(e.g.,
HABEAS, MANDAMUS) 3307 14 DAYS
EXTRAORDINARY
RELIEF 3309 14 DAYS
* MAY
BE SHORTER IN STAY OR SUPERSEDEAS APPLICATIONS WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES
REQUIRE,
OR BY COURT ORDER
B.
Assignment, Circulation and Disposition. All motions, petitions and
applications will be assigned to the Chief Justice, except for emergency
motions, motions addressed to a single Justice, and applications for stay of execution
in capital cases. In matters assigned to the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice
will prepare a memorandum setting forth the positions of the parties and a
recommended disposition. Recommendations should be circulated within sixty (60)
days from the date the answer is filed or is due to be filed, whichever occurs
first, and
should
contain a proposed disposition date no greater than thirty (30) days from the
date of circulation, except in Children’s Fast Track cases, in which recommendations
shall be circulated within fifteen (15) days from the date the answer is filed
or due to be filed, whichever occurs first, and the proposed disposition date
shall be no greater than fifteen (15) days from the date of
circulation.
A vote of the majority is required to implement the proposed disposition.
Every
motion, petition or application shall be decided within sixty (60) days, or within
thirty (30) days in Children’s Fast Track cases. A Justice may request that the
order record that he or she voted for a different disposition. Orders disposing
of motions, petitions and applications shall indicate if a Justice did not
participate in the consideration or decision of the matter.
C.
Emergency Motions.
1.
Assignment. On or before the first Monday in January, the Chief Justice shall
publish a calendar of duty assignments for the handling of emergency motions.
Two Justices will be assigned by the Chief Justice on a monthly rotating basis
to review emergency motions for the Eastern and Western Districts. Cases filed
in the Middle District will be assigned alternately between the Eastern and
Western District duty Justices.
2.
Circulation and Disposition. Any motion assigned to the duty Justice may at the discretion of that Justice be referred
to the full Court for consideration, with or without the entry of an interim
order.
D.
Motions Directed to a Single Justice.
A
Justice may entertain and may grant or deny any request for relief which may
under Pa.R.A.P. 123 or 3315 properly be sought by motion, except that a single
Justice may not dismiss or otherwise
determine
an appeal or other proceeding.
E. Applications for Stay of Execution in a
Capital Case or for Review of an Order Granting
or Denying a Stay of Execution.
1. [Contents of application. The applicant shall set forth the
procedural history of the case, certify that the matter involves an emergency, and
specify any other applications for stay of execution that have been or will be
filed, including those in federal courts. The application shall include any
relevant orders and trial court docket
entries. Whenever possible, applicants shall give the
Prothonotary advance notice of the anticipated filing of an application for a
stay of
execution.
2.] Assignment. The application [for
stay of execution] will be assigned to the duty Justice.
[3.]2. Circulation and Disposition. The assigned
Justice shall promptly circulate a proposed disposition and the application
shall be resolved according to the vote of the majority.
F.
Reconsideration Applications.
1.
Assignment. The Prothonotary shall direct applications for reconsideration to
the Justice who entered the order resolving the application.
2.
Circulation and Disposition. The assigned Justice shall circulate to the Court
a recommended disposition within fourteen (14) days of the date of the
assignment, within seven (7) days of the date of assignment in Children’s Fast
Track appeals, or as soon as practicable in emergency and stay of execution
matters. A Justice who disagrees with the recommended disposition shall
circulate a counter-recommendation within fourteen (14) days of the original
recommendation, within seven (7) days of the date of the original
recommendation in Children’s Fast Track
appeals,
or as soon as practicable in emergency and stay of execution matters. A vote of
the majority is required to grant reconsideration. In any case in which
reconsideration has been denied, a Justice may request that the order record
that he or she voted to grant reconsideration. All orders shall indicate if a
Justice did not participate in the consideration or
decision
of the matter.
§ 8.
Certification of Questions of Law.
A.
Court Limitation. This Court will accept Certification Petitions from the
United States Supreme Court or any United States Court of Appeals.
B. [Contents of Certification Petition. A court may file a
Certification Petition either on the motion of a party or sua sponte.
A Certification Petition shall contain the following:
1. A brief statement of the nature and stage of the proceedings
in the petitioning court;
2. A brief statement of the material facts of the case;
3. A statement of the question or questions of Pennsylvania law
to be determined;
4. A statement of the particular reasons why this Court should
accept certification; and
5. A recommendation as to which party should be designated as
the appellant and which should be designated as the appellee in
subsequent pleadings filed with this Court.
The petitioning court shall attach to the Certification Petition
copies of any papers filed by the parties regarding certification, e.g., a
Motion for Certification, a response thereto and a Stipulation of Facts.
C. Standards for Acceptance.
Acceptance of certification is a matter of judicial discretion.
The Court may accept certification of a question of Pennsylvania law only when
there are special and important reasons therefor, including, but not limited
to, any of the following:
7
1. The question of law is one of first impression and is of such
substantial public importance as to require prompt and definitive resolution by
this Court;
2. The question of law is one with respect to which there are
conflicting decisions in other courts; or
3. The question of law concerns an unsettled issue of the constitutionality,
construction, or application of a statute of this Commonwealth.
The Court shall not accept certification unless all facts
material to the question of law to be determined are undisputed, and the
question of law is one that the petitioning court has not previously decided.
The Court shall decide whether to accept or decline certification without
hearing oral argument.
D.] Assignment, Circulation and Disposition. The Prothonotary shall
refer Certification Petitions to the Chief Justice, who will prepare a
memorandum setting forth the positions of the parties and a recommended
disposition. Acceptance of certification
is a matter of judicial discretion. The Court shall decide whether to accept or
decline certification without hearing oral argument. The
recommendation should be circulated within thirty (30) days from the date of
assignment, and should contain a proposed disposition date no greater than
thirty (30) days from the date of circulation. Every Certification Petition
should be decided within sixty (60) days. A vote of the majority is required to
implement the proposed disposition. A Justice may request that the order record
that he or she voted for a different disposition. Orders disposing of Certification
Petitions shall indicate if a Justice did not participate in the consideration
or decision of the matter. Upon acceptance of certification by the Court, the
Prothonotary shall (1) issue an order accepting certification, which shall
specify the questions of law for which
certification
was accepted, and whether the case is to be submitted on the briefs or heard at
an argument session; (2) establish a briefing schedule; (3) list the matter for
oral argument if oral argument has been granted; and (4) take such further
action as the Court directs.
[E.]C. Amicus curiae briefs. After the Court
accepts certification, amicus curiae briefs may be submitted without prior
leave of Court. Such briefs shall be filed and served in the manner and within
the time directed by the Prothonotary.
[F.]D. Reconsideration Applications.
1.
Assignment. Upon receipt of an application for reconsideration following an
order resolving a Certification Petition, the Prothonotary shall direct the reconsideration
application to the Chief Justice for assignment.
2.
Circulation and Disposition. The assigned Justice shall circulate to the Court
a recommended disposition within fourteen (14) days of the date of
the
assignment. A Justice who disagrees with the recommended disposition shall
circulate a counter-recommendation within fourteen (14) days of the original recommendation. A vote
of the majority is required to grant reconsideration. In any case in which
reconsideration has been denied, a Justice may request that the order record
that he or she voted to grant reconsideration. All orders shall indicate if a
Justice did not participate in the consideration or decision of the matter.
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