driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance, driving after imbibing alcohol or utilizing drugs, and offenses related to The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act prohibiting manufacture, sale or delivery, holding, offering for sale or possession of any controlled substance or other drug or device.
Where a party seeks any form of custody subject to the examination of the parties, the Court shall determine:
With respect to child abuse under Chapter 63 (relating to child protective services) or a child who is a victim of a crime under 18 Pa.C.S. (relating to crimes and offenses) which would constitute abuse under Chapter 63: Whether the child is the subject of an indicated or founded report of child abuse; Whether a party or a member of the party's household has been identified as the perpetrator in an indicated or founded report of child abuse; the date and circumstances of the child abuse; and the jurisdiction where the child abuse investigation took place.
With respect to child protective services or general protective services under Chapter 63: Whether a party or a member of a party’s household has been provided services; the type of services provided; the circumstances surrounding the provision of services; the status of services; the date the services were provided; and the jurisdiction where the services were provided.
If you have obtained information about a criminal charge filed against the other party for an offense listed above, you may move for a temporary Custody Order or modification of an existing Custody Order. The Court must schedule an expedited hearing and the Court shall consider whether the party who is or has been charged with an offense poses a risk of physical, emotional or psychological harm to the child.
You can find out information about pending criminal charges, criminal convictions, guilty pleas and no contest pleas in Pennsylvania by logging on to the Web Portal for the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania at http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/. Once on this website, you can look up the dockets for all minor courts (Magisterial District Judges) and Common Pleas Courts in Pennsylvania. If you have correctly spelled the last name of the individual, you can find out if there are convictions or charges pending against the individual in any county in Pennsylvania.
Criminal Record / Abuse History Verification
A party must file and serve with the Complaint for Custody a Verification regarding any criminal record or abuse history of that party and anyone living in that party’s household. The party must attach a blank Verification form to a Complaint served upon the other party. The party served must file with the court a Verification regarding his or her own criminal record or abuse history and anyone living in his or her household on or before the initial in-person contact with the court, but not later than 30 days after