THE COURTS
Title 255—LOCAL COURT RULES
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY
Local Rule—NCV-5102; No. AD-2024-3
[54 Pa.B. 1312]
[Saturday, March 16, 2024]
Order And Now, this 1st day of March, 2024, it is hereby Ordered that Local Rule of Judicial Administration, NCV—5102 is adopted effective April 1, 2024.
The Northumberland County District Court Administrator is directed as follows:
(1) File one (1) copy to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts via email to adminrules@pacourts.us.
(2) One paper copy mailed to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin to the following address:
Pa. Code and Bulletin
Legislative Reference Bureau
647 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120And another copy e-mailed in a Microsoft Word format only to bulletin@palrb.us.
(3) One copy shall be sent to the Editor of the Northumberland County Legal Journal.
(4) Publish a copy of the Administrative Order with Local Rule on the web site of Northumberland County.
(5) Thereafter, compile the Local Rule within the complete set of local rules no later than 30 days following the publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
It is further Ordered that a copy of the Local Rule shall be kept continuously available for public inspection and copying in the office of the Prothonotary of Northumberland County.
By the Court
PAIGE ROSINI,
President JudgeRule NCV 5102. Custody of Exhibits.
Local Rule of Judicial Administration 5102 is issued to align practice and procedure of Northumberland County Court of Common Pleas with Pa.R.J.A. 5101—5105. This local rule incorporates the terms of art and their definitions as set forth in Pa.R.J.A. 5101. Reference to Pa.R.J.A. 5101—5105 shall be made when interpreting Northumberland County Local Rule 5102 and when determining the procedure and practice for Exhibit Retention in Northumberland County. This local rule does not apply to any record hearing which may be appealed de novo to the Court of Common Pleas or upon which exceptions or objections can be filed to the Court of Common Pleas.
1. A. Until the conclusion of a proceeding, the proponent (the party moving the exhibit into evidence) of any exhibit being offered into evidence shall be its custodian and is responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the exhibit. At the conclusion of the proceeding, the proponent shall submit to the Court 1) the exhibits offered into evidence; and 2) a numbered list of exhibits offered into evidence including a) a textual description or identification of each exhibit; and b) whether the exhibit was admitted into or rejected from evidence by the Court.
B. After the proceeding, the Office of the Court Administrator, or its designee, shall be designated as the ''Custodian'', as defined by Pa.R.J.A. 5101(a)(2), for all documentary exhibits, photographs, and photographs of non-documentary exhibits accepted during the court proceeding. The custodian shall file with the appropriate records office (Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts/Orphans Court) all submitted exhibits and index of exhibits within five (5) business days of the conclusion of the proceeding.
2. Prior to the proceeding, the proponent (the party moving the exhibit into evidence) shall assure that documentary evidence is in a format, including size and material, that is compatible with being filed, viewed, and easily stored by the records office, namely 8.5 × 11-inch paper printed only on one side. If, due to the nature or size of the exhibit, it is not easily capable of storage by the records office, then the records office may request that alternate measures be undertaken for storage of this documentary evidence. If the total number of pages of exhibits from a proponent is in excess of twenty-five (25), the proponent shall submit the exhibits to the court on a USB drive.
3. The proponent (the party moving the exhibit into evidence) shall retain custody of physical evidence, including, but not limited to, weapons, cash, other items of value, drugs, other dangerous materials, bulky, oversized, or otherwise physically impractical exhibits at all times before and after a court proceeding.
A. These non-documentary exhibits must be photographed by the proponent, converted to a letter-sized (8.5 × 11 inch) document, and appropriately marked and produced during the court proceeding for inclusion in the documentary record.
B. Unless otherwise provided by the presiding judge, at the conclusion of the court proceeding, non-documentary evidence shall be returned to the proponent for safekeeping as required by any applicable retention schedule, statute, rule, regulation, or policy, or until further order of court.
4. Unless otherwise ordered, the proponent shall maintain non-documentary exhibits for a minimum of the following time periods:
A. Non-criminal matters. Retain exhibits until the expiration of the appeal period or the final disposition of the appeal if one is taken, whichever is later.
B. Criminal matters:
i. Homicides—75 years.
ii. Felony cases—20 years.
iii. Misdemeanor cases—10 years.
iv. Summary cases—5 years.
5. Any digital exhibit that cannot be printed (i.e. audio or video recording) shall be entered into the record on a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive, or other format if expressly approved by the court. If one party has multiple digital exhibits, they may be submitted together on one USB flash drive.
6. Any exhibit containing confidential information or equivalent to any of the categories enumerated in Pa. Access Policy § 8.0 shall include a Confidential Document Form so that the document can be properly sealed by the record office.
Adopted February 29, 2024, effective April 1, 2024.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-334. Filed for public inspection March 15, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]
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