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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
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In Re: 43rd Judicial District
38 MM 2020
Petition for Emergency Judicial Order
Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 1952(B)(2)
Petition for Continuation of Emergency Judicial Order Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No.
1952(B)(2)
TO THE JUSTICES OF THE PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT:
Margherita Patti-Worthington, President Judge of the 43rd Judicial District,
hereby files the following Petition for Emergency Judicial Order Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A.
No. 1952(B)(2) and in support thereof, avers as follows:
1.
On March 16, 2020, we declared a judicial emergency in response to the
COVID-19 Pandemic.
30, 2021.
2.
By subsequent orders, we extended the judicial emergency through June
3.
On June 21, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court entered an order
stating “[e]ffective July 6, 2021, operation of the Unified Judicial System shall return to
pre-pandemic status. All courtrooms, adjacent judicial facilities, chambers, and offices
within the Unified Judicial System shall be fully opened and staffed by judges and other
4.
On June 24, 2021, in response to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s June
21st Order, we filed a “Petition for Emergency Judicial Order Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No.
1952(B)(2),” which was granted, in part, by Order of the Supreme Court dated June 29,
personnel.”
2021.
5.
The Supreme Court’s June 29th Order allowed this Court to “continue to
suspend any state or local rule that restricts the use of advanced communication
technology (ACT) in court proceedings,” with certain qualifications, which this Court has
followed.
District.
6.
On August 19, 2021, this Court filed a second petition, seeking to extend
the suspension of rules that restrict the use of ACT, citing specific statistics regarding
the rising number of COVID-19 cases in this County and Pennsylvania, as well as the
below average vaccination rates and high transmission rates in the Forty-Third Judicial
7.
This Court’s August 19th Petition was denied without prejudice for failure to
“sufficiently detail how the Forty-Third Judicial District is presently experiencing a
county-specific judicial emergency justifying the requested relief under Rule of Judicial
Administration 1952(B)(2).”
8.
On August 31, 2021, this Court filed a third petition seeking to extend the
suspension of rules that restrict the use of ACT, citing specific statistics regarding the
rising number of COVID-19 cases in this County and Pennsylvania, as well as the below
average vaccination rates and high transmission rates in the Forty-Third Judicial
District.
9.
On September 3, 2021, this Court’s August 31st Petition was GRANTED
IN PART and authorized the President Judge, through October 1, 2021, to suspend
state or local rules that restrict the use of ACT in court proceedings, subject to state and
federal constitutional limitations. 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. No. 1950-1954, or when a
proceeding is not being conducted during normal business hours. In all other respects,
the Application was Denied.
10.
For the following reasons, we again request that the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court grant permission for this Court to continue to suspend any state or local
rule that restricts the use of advanced communication technology (ACT) in court
proceedings, through December 31, 2021 as a proactive, preventative and necessary
measure and in support thereof avers:
a.
The full vaccination rate in the 43rd Judicial District is currently
under the average for all of Pennsylvania and our daily case count
continues to rise. Monroe County has seen a recent surge in
COVID-19 cases: the 7-day average on July 6, 2021 was 2 while
the 7-day average as of August 6, 2021 was 24, representing an
1100% increase in just one month. Moreover, the 7-day average
continued to rise to 39 on August 29, 2021 and as of September 26,
2021 the 7-day average was 66, representing a 69% increase over
the rate cited in Our last petition or a 3200% increase in just under
b.
Our local medical experts have opined that the statistics are
artificially low due to lower than average testing rates in the
three months.
community.
c.
Despite the potential for artificially low numbers, Monroe County is
classified as a “high” transmission zone, with a current incidence
rate of 271.9 per 100,000 residents—significantly above the
statewide incidence rate of 196.3 for Pennsylvania, and higher than
larger jurisdictions including Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery,
Bucks and Delaware Counties.
d.
The statewide statistics are likewise increasingly troublesome. In
this Court’s August 19th Petition, we cited a 7-day average for all of
Pennsylvania of 2,098 new COVID-19 cases. During the week of
our last petition, the 7-day average was 3,255 (55% increase in less
than two weeks). Current statistics indicate that the 7-day average
has increased to 4,525 or in other terms, 39% higher than the
August 31st Petition and a 116% increase since the August 19th
Petition.
e.
The Delta Variant of COVID-19, in conjunction with continued low
vaccination rates and increasing breakthrough infections, has
proven particularly contagious and poses significant health, safety,
and welfare issues. A recent uptick in COVID-19 cases and
exposures among court and court-related employees and staff,
despite requiring masking and social distancing (as possible) inside
all Court Facilities, has required quarantining of staff and judicial
officers.
f.
Notwithstanding, all courts in the 43rd Judicial District have been
and have remained open since our declaration of judicial
emergency with health and safety measures in place that have
enabled us to avoid any major outbreaks of COVID-19 among court
and court-related employees and staff.
g.
We have been able to remain consistently open and operational by
using both ACT and in-person proceedings at our Magisterial
District Justice offices and the Court of Common Pleas. ACT has
been vital in our ability to remain open.
h.
The continued use of ACT in Preliminary Hearings, Preliminary and
Formal Arraignments, Pretrial Conferences, Guilty Plea Hearings,
Bench Warrant Hearings, Sentencing Hearings, Post Sentence
Motions Hearings, Bail Hearings, and PCRA Hearings is necessary
i.
Since March 12, 2020, we have had 8,212 criminal dispositions,
during this COVID-19 surge in Monroe County. The availability of
ACT as an alternative to conducting in-person proceedings in the
above matters allows this Court to limit the number of people in the
Courthouse, overall, and the courtrooms, individually, to prevent the
spread of COVID-19, and increase the availability of lawyers to
handle multiple matters across multiple courtrooms or counties.
ACT also allows this Court to continue conducting these types of
proceedings with individuals incarcerated at state correctional
facilities, to further cut down on transportation-related exposure. All
judges and staff have been and will continue to preside in the
courtroom and Court Facilities.
including 22 jury trials and 21 bench trials. We have been working
consistently over the last several months to reduce the backlog of
cases that resulted from the initial state-wide shut down of Court
Facilities. We have been able to maintain these numbers, despite
space limitations, through the use of ACT. In our Courthouse, we
are limited, based on safe social distancing standards, to selecting
only one jury at a time in our largest courtroom, as opposed to
multiple juries in multiple courtrooms. Additionally, throughout the
course of a jury trial, we must internally simulcast the proceedings
to another location in order to maintain proper public access.
Furthermore, we have been conducting all bench trials via ACT in
an effort to free Courtroom space for jury trials to keep cases
moving through the system in a fair and efficient manner.
j.
Nearly every Custody petition filed in this Court requires either a
hearing or a conciliation conference. In August, we had
approximately 40 Custody petitions filed. These hearings and
conciliations are conducted utilizing ACT. Without the use of ACT,
we would be entirely unable to process our current Custody
caseload. As explained above, Court Facility space that can be
effectively used with proper social distancing is at a premium and
must be used for jury trials where possible. By being able to
conduct Custody hearings and conciliations via ACT, we do not
have to divert precious Court Facility space, we can protect the
litigants, including children who are not yet eligible for vaccination,
and Court officers involved, and we can keep up with the ever
increasing Custody filings without compromising on space, safety,
or efficiency.
k.
The use of ACT has been favorably received by our justice partners
in that it has proven efficient and effective in allowing the courts of
the Forty-Third Judicial District to move matters through the system.
The continued use of ACT will allow for further prompt resolution of
cases.
l.
As mentioned in the August 31st Petition, the vaccination rate of our
local jail population (31%) is well below the statewide average and
ACT has proven to increase the safety of prisoners while providing
a cost-effective alternative to the often-unnecessary transport of
prisoners to and from in-person proceedings.
m.
Since this time, the local jail has endured a number of recent
outbreaks with the current “Active/Confirmed” cases now totaling
5% of the jail’s inmate population. “Active/Confirmed” case counts
at the jail have remained in the double digits since September 17,
2021; prior to this outbreak, the jail had avoided double digit case
counts since December 25, 2020.
n.
85% or more of preliminary hearings are waived and the Magisterial
District Justice offices of this Judicial District do not provide enough
space to effectively implement social distancing precautions. ACT
proceedings in this Judicial District have and continue to be
invaluable to the health, safety, and welfare of all involved while
maintaining the ability to move cases through the judicial process.
o.
For example, with the use of ACT proceedings for incarcerated
individuals, we have been able to avoid transporting these
individuals to MDJ Offices by police vehicles, which are small and
confined and offer no ability for social distancing, and then back to
the jail, where there is limited space to effectively quarantine. If this
Judicial District were forced to abandon our pandemic-related ACT
practices, these types of exposures could easily spark a
widespread infection at the jail.
p.
This Court seeks permission to continue using ACT in the manner
we have been since the beginning of this pandemic pursuant to the
definition of “emergency” as “an event or events that . . . poses a
threat to the health and safety of court personnel, court users or the
public,” Pa. R.J.A. No. 1950, in order to prevent a major outbreak of
COVID-19 at the jail or in any judicial facility, and to continue
processing matters safely, fairly, and expeditiously.
WHEREFORE, it is respectfully requested that in consideration of efficiencies in
reducing backlog, cost effectiveness, and the health, safety, and welfare of the public,
court and county employees, and the judges and staff of the 43rd Judicial District, this
Court provide the following relief:
1. Authorize the President Judge of the 43rd Judicial District to continue to
suspend any state or local rule that restricts, directly or indirectly, the use of
ACT in court proceedings until December 31, 2021, with the exception of Rule
of Criminal Procedure 600, to allow the continued use of ACT where at all
possible and practicable for any and all proceedings within this Judicial
District.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________________
Margherita Patti-Worthington, President Judge
43rd Judicial District
Monroe County, Pennsylvania
