In Re: 1st Judicial District (Phila. County) ( 2021 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT IN RE: FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF : No. 21 EM 2020 PENNSYLVANIA : : ORDER PER CURIAM AND NOW, this 19th day of August, 2021, the Request Pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 1952(B)(2)(m) is DENIED, WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The instant Application seeks permission for the President Judge of the First Judicial District to continue suspending Rule of Criminal Procedure 600 through October 31, 2021. Additionally, the Application seeks permission to continue suspending, through an unspecified date, rules that limit the use of advanced communication technology (ACT). Notably, however, the instant Application does not sufficiently detail how the First Judicial District is presently experiencing a county-specific judicial emergency justifying the requested relief under Rule of Judicial Administration 1952(B)(2). For instance, the Application provides no particularized data as to how the pandemic is presently, and adversely, affecting the First Judicial District’s capacity to function normally under Rule 600, as well as under the general limitations on the use of ACT. Respectfully, absent such detailed information, the Application fails to establish that the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County is presently experiencing a judicial emergency that would necessitate conferring the requested authority on the President Judge pursuant to Rule of Judicial Administration 1952(B)(2).