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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.
Every month since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s June 21st Order, we
have filed Petitions for the continued use of advanced communication technology (ACT)
in court proceedings. Every month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has granted our
Petitions, in part, and has authorized the President Judge to suspend state or local rules
that restrict the use of ACT in court proceedings, subject to state and federal
constitutional limitations. The Orders further require that 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.
6.
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 April 30, 2021 as a proactive, preventative and necessary
measure and in support thereof avers:
a.
The full vaccination rate in the 43rd Judicial District remains under the
average for all of Pennsylvania and our daily case count continues to
be high and continue rising, with a current daily average of 107 new
cases. This daily case count matches the County’s statistics from our
largest spike in cases to date: December 2020. Additionally, earlier this
month, we surpassed our highest 2020 case numbers with an average
daily case count of 134.
b.
Over the month of December, Monroe County’s ICU utilization rate is
currently 83%, which is considered “high.” However, over the month of
December, ICU utilization did spike to “critical” levels (90%) and likely
only decreased due to transfers to ICUs in other jurisdictions as our
average daily number of COVID hospitalization has increased by
10.5% over the last seven days.
c.
The County’s current COVID-19 incident rate per 100,000 is 474.0,
with a percent positivity rate of 20%. These numbers are on par with
what Monroe County was experiencing at the height of the pandemic in
December of 2020. Moreover, our incident rate per 100,000 has
increased 60% since our last petition filed on November 30, 2021.
d.
Currently, Monroe County’s daily new cases per 100,000 is more than
double that of Philadelphia County and nearly double that of other
larger jurisdictions including, Chester, Montgomery, Bucks and
Delaware Counties. Notably, all of these larger jurisdictions also have
significantly higher vaccination rates than Monroe County.
e.
The statewide statistics likewise remain troublesome as
Pennsylvania’s daily case average is 7,649.
f.
Moreover, as the newest variant, Omicron, makes its way through the
U.S., with confirmed cases in the areas surrounding Monroe County,
we must remain vigilant in our efforts to maintain social distancing and
other countermeasures. Indeed, while the trajectory of this variant is
still unclear, preliminary research indicates, and our current statistics
appear to support, that the Omicron variant is more transmissible and
replicates more quickly than either of its predecessors.
g.
Notwithstanding the foregoing or what we might be facing in the near
future, 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.
h.
Unfortunately, over the month of December, we have seen recent
outbreaks of COVID-19 in three separate court-related Departments
housed within the Courthouse. At least one of the outbreaks has led to
employee hospitalization and yet another to employee ICU
hospitalization. Thanks in large part to our current protocols, which
include the invaluable use of ACT, we have been able to contain
further spread within the Courthouse.
i.
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. This is especially true in light of two recent
COVID-19 outbreaks: one in our Sheriff’s Office, reducing the number
of deputies available for in-court proceedings, and one in the Public
Defender’s Office, which reduced the number of defense attorneys
available for in-court proceedings.
j.
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
while COVID-19 transmission rates remain high 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.
k.
Since March 12, 2020, we have had 9,566 criminal dispositions,
including 122 total trial dispositions, 45 of which were jury trials and 30
were bench trials. We continue to work consistently to reduce the
backlog of cases that resulted from the initial state-wide shut down of
Court Facilities and have nearly accomplished this monumental task.
l.
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, in addition to safe social
distancing. 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.
m.
Nearly every Custody petition filed in this Court requires either a
hearing or a conciliation conference. Custody filings in Monroe County
remain steady and the accompanying hearings and conciliations are
conducted utilizing ACT, with at least 24 ACT custody proceedings
being scheduled every week. 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 our
Custody caseload without compromising on space, safety, or
efficiency.
n.
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.
o.
The vaccination rate of our local jail population remains 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.
p.
Though Monroe County’s case numbers have been steadily rising
through the month of December, COVID cases at the jail have been
surprisingly low. Due to space constraints at the jail, a COVID-19
outbreak is incredibly difficult to contain when it does occur, as
statistics from our previous Petitions have shown. However, due in
large part to this Court’s use of ACT, the jail has been able to
effectively keep the infection rate under 5% throughout the pandemic.
q.
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.
r.
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 more widespread infection at
the jail.
s.
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 April 30, 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
