Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 39, September 28, 2024
Rule 705 - Seniority of Judges(a)Seniority between elected and appointed judges. Elected judges shall have seniority over appointed judges.(b)Seniority among elected judges. The seniority of elected judges shall be determined on the basis of the date of election, if service is continuous on the same court. Service by appointment shall not be considered in computing seniority among elected judges.(c)Seniority among appointed judges. The seniority of appointed judges, for the duration of appointment, shall be computed from the date of appointment, if service is continuous on the same court.(d)Simultaneous election or appointment. Should any two judges of the same court be elected or appointed at the same time, they shall cast lots forthwith for priority of commission and seniority before the Chief Justice or the president judge of the court in which they are to serve, and certify the results to the Governor.(e)Judges of merged courts. Where two or more courts are merged, service on any one of the constituent courts shall be deemed to be service on the surviving court for the purpose of determining length of continuous service on the surviving court under this rule.(f)Judges of new courts. The initial judges of a newly created court shall be deemed to be elected judges for the purposes of this rule regardless of the method of their initial selection. If a statute creating a court shall specify the seniority among the initial judges of the court such statute shall control over any inconsistent provision of this rule.(g)Certification of Seniority. Where priority of commission or seniority of a judge is determined under this rule, the Chief Justice or the president judge of the court in question shall certify the same to the Administrative Office, which shall record such information.(h)Waiver of seniority. A judge may waive in writing seniority to which he is otherwise entitled under this rule with respect to any specific right, privilege, immunity or position, but no revocation of any such waiver shall affect any rights or status acquired while such waiver is in effect.The provisions of this Rule 705 adopted May 2, 1972; amended through November 30, 1972; effective 5/2/1972.Amended by Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol 53, No. 31. August 5, 2023, effective 8/5/2023