Phil. Cnty. Pa. 1033

As amended through December 18, 2021

Rule 1033 - Procedures When Defendant Arrested With Warrant

(a)Defendant Arrested During the Traffic Division's Hours of Operation.

(1) A defendant arrested pursuant to a Traffic Division warrant shall be brought to the Traffic Division as soon as practicable after being processed provided the Traffic Division is open.

(2) A warrant hearing shall be conducted promptly by a Traffic Division judge or hearing officer to determine the reasons for the issuance of the warrant, and to determine whether a summary trial or hearing on the matter which resulted in the issuance of the warrant can be held immediately. At the conclusion of the warrant hearing, all outstanding Traffic Division warrants against the Defendant shall be withdrawn.

(i) If it appears that the summary trial or hearing on the matter which resulted in the issuance of the warrant can be held immediately, the summary trial or hearing will be held immediately.

(ii) If it appears that the summary trial or hearing on the matter which resulted in the issuance of the warrant cannot be held immediately, and the defendant does not have a history of failure to appear for Traffic Division hearings:

(A) the Traffic Division judge or hearing officer shall schedule the summary trial or hearing and determine whether collateral must be posted by the defendant to secure defendant's release pending the hearing or summary trial. The Scheduling Orders shall be substantially in the form which follows this Local Rule;

(B) the defendant shall be released unless collateral has been ordered and has not been posted; and

(C) if the defendant is ordered to post collateral and the collateral has not been posted, the defendant shall be brought to the county prison and held pending the summary trial or hearing. Provided, however, that the defendant shall be released at any time before the scheduled summary trial or hearing when the collateral is posted.

(iii) If it appears that the summary trial or hearing on the matter which resulted in the issuance of the warrant cannot be held immediately, and the defendant does have a history of failure to appear for Traffic Division hearings, especially after personal service of a citation or scheduling hearing, the Traffic Division judge or hearing officer shall schedule the summary trial or hearing without unnecessary delay, but in no event more than 72 hours from the date of the bench warrant hearing or, if the 72 hours expire on a non-business day, no later than the close of the next business day, and the defendant may be held in custody pending the rescheduled hearing. For purposes of this subsection, the term "history of failure to appear" shall mean that the defendant has failed to appear for at least two (2) Traffic Division hearings despite service of a date certain citation or notice personally on the defendant.

(b)Defendant Arrested While the Traffic Division is Closed. A defendant arrested pursuant to a Traffic Division warrant while the Traffic Division is closed shall be processed as provided in Philadelphia Municipal Court Rule 540. The Subpoena/Commitment form used by the Municipal Court arraignment court magistrate shall be substantially in the form which follows this Local Rule.

SCHEDULING ORDER FORMS

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Phil. Cnty. Pa. 1033

Adopted December 21, 2005, effective on2/1/2006; amended on May 8, 2014; effective 6/23/2014.

COMMENT: Pa.R.Crim P. 1033, Philadelphia Municipal Court Rule 540, and this Local Rule are intended to provide a warrant hearing process which minimizes the time a defendant is held before a warrant hearing is conducted. However, the very nature of an arrest, the need to properly identify the defendant, and the internal protocol the arresting law enforcement officers need to follow incident to an arrest will, per force, take time. Nonetheless, it is expected that, to the extent possible, the time a defendant is held be minimized. The standard form of the Scheduling Orders is set forth below together with documents which will secure defendant's release when collateral has been ordered and is posted either at the Traffic Division or at the Bail Acceptance Unit at the Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice, which is open around the clock, every day, including holidays.

The standard Scheduling Orders for Summary Trials and Default Hearing place the defendant on notice that that a defendant's failure to appear will result in the issuance of a bench warrant and when the defendant is arrested, the hearing will be rescheduled and the defendant will be held in custody until the rescheduled hearing date.

Subsection (a)(2)(iii) was added to clearly set forth the maximum amount of time a defendant who has a history of failure to appear for a Traffic Division hearing or trial despite personal service of the hearing date can be held pending the rescheduled hearing date in the event a hearing or trial cannot be held on the day the defendant is brought to the Traffic Division for a warrant hearing. The time period provided in the new subsection is the same as that provided in Pa.R.Crim.P. 150.

It is anticipated that most of the summary trials or hearings will be held on the same day the defendant is arrested and brought to the Traffic Division on a warrant issued due to the defendant's failure to appear. Some defendants may have such large number of outstanding traffic citations and citations which are in default of a payment which will require some time to compile the required records and to obtain the required certified record from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Nonetheless, the Traffic Division can reasonably do so within the requisite 72 hour period or release the defendant pending a future scheduled date if it is unable to do so.