Rule 17CR5102 - Custody of Exhibits(a) Scope. Local rule 5102 is hereby issued to align the practice and procedure in the Court of Common Pleas for the 17th Judicial District with Pa.R.J.A. 5101 - 5105. These local rules incorporate the terms of art and their definitions as set forth in Pa.R.J.A. 5101(a). These local rules do 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.(b) Custodian. The proponent of any exhibit being offered into evidence shall be its custodian. The custodian is responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the exhibit(s) until the conclusion of the proceedings.(c) Format of Exhibits. The custodian shall ensure that the format of an exhibit, including size and material, is compatible with the records office's ability to maintain and retrieve it. This includes the following: (i) offering as an exhibit an 8 1/2 by 11 inch copy of any oversized (larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches) documentary evidence;(ii) offering as an exhibit copies of any voluminous documentary evidence on a digital storage device; and(iii) offering any digital media (e.g., video and/or audio recordings) as an exhibit on a digital storage device in a format that uses publicly available software for retrieval, or includes any propriety software necessary for retrieval.(d) Submission to the Court. Unless instructed otherwise by the presiding judge, the custodian shall submit any exhibits to the Court at the conclusion of the court proceeding in order to ensure that the exhibits are filed with the records office for incorporation into the docket within the next five business days. The custodian shall submit to the Court a numbered list of exhibitsoffered into evidence that includes the following: (i) a textual description or identification of each exhibit; and(ii) whether the exhibit was admitted into or rejected from evidence by the Court.(e) Retention by the Custodian. Unless instructed otherwise by the presiding judge, the custodian shall retain custody after the conclusion of court proceedings of the following: (i) non-documentary evidence (i.e., physical evidence including, but not limited to, clothing, weapons, cash or other items of value, drugs, and dangerous or biohazardous materials); or(ii) evidence that is bulky, oversized or otherwise impractical for the records office to store/maintain. In such cases, the custodian shall ensure that a photograph (no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches) of such evidence is offered as an exhibit and included in the index of exhibits.Adopted effective 5/7/2024.