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IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF MERCER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
IN RE: MAY CALL OF LIST/PRETRIAL
EMERGENCY CHANGES
No, 2020- AD
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
AND NOW,
this
(7 day of April, 2020,
in consideration of the
continuing coronavirus health crisis and the need to protect the public,
the court’s schedule is modified as follows:
I. MAY 6, 2020 CALL OF THE LIST
A.
The May 6, 2020 Call of the List
is NOT cancelled but modified as
follows:
1.
No criminal defendant shall appear in person at the Mercer
County Courthouse whether represented or unrepresented.
a.
Any defendant appearing shall be advised by the
Sheriff’s department
that his/her hearing has been
rescheduled for Wednesday, June 3, 2020 at 8:30 am.
in Courtrooms 1 or 2 on the second floor of
the
courthouse unless that defendant’s case is scheduled
for a plea in May.
b.
Pleas will be scheduled as follows and heard in
Courtroom No. 2:
(1)
Tuesday, May 12, 2020 for President Judge Yeaffs
(2) Wednesday, May 13, 2020 for Judge Nesbit
(3)
(4)
Thursday, May 14, 2020 for Judge Wallace
Friday, May 15, 2020 for Judge Amrhein
Those not sentenced at the time of their plea will be
sentenced by President Judge Yeaffs (those cases from
his list) and by Judge Nesbit (those cases from his list)
unless otherwise agreed upon.
c.
Defense attorneys are responsible for notifying their
clients of the continuance or plea as the case may be.
2.
Afforneys shall appear for Call of the List to discuss their cases.
a.
Afforneys may appear by teleconference provided
they have
coordinated
such
appearance with
opposing counsel such that opposing counsel will be
present at the time of the teleconference.
b.
Afforneys may submit any motion, agreement, or status
report in writing provided the writing is signed by both
afforneys.
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c.
Afforneys shall use their best efforts to resolve or at least
reach a consensus on how the case will proceed.
3.
All four courtrooms will be handling Call of the List:
a.
President Judge Veaffs’
list will be split with Judge
Amrhein, with President Judge Yeaffs taking the first half
of his list (if an odd number, President Judge Yeaffs will
take the extra case) and with Judge Amrhein taking
the second half of the list.
b.
Judge Nesbit’s list will be split with Judge Wallace, with
Judge Nesbit taking the first half of his list (if an odd
number, Judge Nesbit will take the extra case) and
with Judge Wallace taking the second half of the list.
4.
No defendants will be brought over from the Mercer County
Jail; however, afforneys will be expected to discuss the status
of those cases.
B.
All persons present, including afforneys, court staff, sheriff deputies,
and others shall practice social distancing and take all other precautions.
In the smaller courtrooms this may result in afforneys waiting outside the
courtroom until it is their turn to present their cases.
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II. MAY 11, 2020 CRIMINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCES
A.
The May 11, 2020 criminal pretrial conferences are NOT cancelled
but modified as follows:
No defendant shall appear in person.
2.
Unless their client is entering a plea, afforneys may appear via
teleconferencing provided they have coordinated such
appearance with opposing counsel such that opposing
counsel will be present at the time of the teleconference.
3.
Only Mercer County Jail cases will be heard. Defendants
shall appear by video conferencing in accordance with the
following schedule:
a.
The pretrial conferences will be held in Courtroom No.
b.
Judge Yeatts’ cases will be heard from 9:00 am. to
c.
Judge Amrhein’s cases will be heard from 10:30 am. to
d.
Judge Wallace’s cases will be heard from 1:30 p.m. to
2.
10:30 a.m.
noon.
3:00 pm.
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e.
Judge Nesbit’s cases will be heard from 3:00 p.m. to
4:30 p.m.
4.
5,
Guilty pleas, if any, will be taken by video conference.
All persons present,
including afforneys, court staff, sheriff
deputies, and others shall practice social distancing and take
all other precautions.
Ill. JUNE 3, 2020 CALL OF THE LIST
A.
At this time the June 3, 2020 Call of the List and the June 8, 2020
criminal pretrial conferences will be heard as scheduled subject to further
Order of Court.
1.
It is an anticipated that the June Call of the List will be very
long considering the modifications of the April and May Calls
of the List, Therefore, the following shall occur:
a.
Afforneys shall use their best efforts to speak with one
another prior to June’s Call of the List to see what cases
b.
It is possible that all four courtrooms will be scheduled
can be resolved.
to hear cases.
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_P.J.
c.
Counsel are advised that Call of the List could run very
long into the evening and they shall prepare their
schedules accordingly.
d.
Counsel shall advise their clients that they should come
alone and recommend to them for health reasons that
others accompanying the defendant should remain in
their cars.
If a defendant insists that these others be
present we will call that case as early as possible.
e.
All persons present,
including afforneys, court staff,
sheriff deputies, and others
shall practice social
distancing and take all other precautions.
In the smaller
courtrooms this may result in attorneys and defendants
waiting outside until their case is ready to be presented.
IV. MISCELLANEOUS
It
is expected that all persons present will act with courtesy and
patience during this crisis period.
BY THE COURT:
Robert G. Yeatts, President Judge
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