the Court Administrator’s Office shall post the schedule for Central Court dates occurring within the following six (6) months and provide copies to the Court, the Clerk of Court’s Office, each Magisterial District Judge, the District Attorney, and the Public Defender. The Magisterial District Judge shall enter the dates of court appearances and the notice required by this rule in accordance with the schedule established by the Court Administrator’s Office.
If a defendant is held for court following a preliminary hearing on a date other than a Central Court date, they shall be scheduled for additional proceedings according to the schedule which would apply to the Central Court date immediately following the preliminary hearing.
In order to comply with Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 600, the Commonwealth may change the dates of plea and trial by providing the Court and counsel with written notice of the same at the time of formal arraignment.
Rule 547. Return of Transcript and Original Papers.
When a defendant is held for court, or after the issuing authority receives notice that the case will be presented to the indicting grand jury and closes out the case, the issuing authority shall prepare a transcript of the proceedings. The transcript and any associated documents shall be electronically scanned and transmitted to the clerk of courts in digital format in lieu of transmitting the physical paper transcript and associated documents. The electronically scanned transcript and associated documents shall constitute the original documents for purposes of this rule. The issuing authority shall retain the physical paper transcript and associated documents as long as required to comply with record retention policies.
Note: Text of rule effective April 1, 2025.
Rule 570.1. Non-Trial Disposition Conference.
Within 60 days of formal arraignment, the Commonwealth and defense attorney or pro-se defendant shall meet for a non-trial disposition conference to discuss:
informal discovery;
applicable sentencing guideline ranges and other sentencing factors; and
the terms, if any, of proposed plea offers and agreements.
The date of non-trial disposition conference shall be set annually by the Court Calendar with notice of the same provided to the parties at the time of preliminary hearing.
Attendance at the non-trial disposition conference is mandatory and appearing at the same shall be a standard condition of all bail.
Upon petition of the Commonwealth, and after hearing, the Court may revoke the defendant's bail for failure to appear at the non-trial disposition conference.