SUPREME COURT Pilot Program for Pro Bono Representation; No. 443 Judicial Administration Doc. [45 Pa.B. 1361]
[Saturday, March 21, 2015]Order Per Curiam
And Now, this 5th day of March, 2015, It Is Ordered that:
There is hereby established a pilot program to provide pro bono representation to indigent criminal defendants, as well as indigent civil litigants who have a right to appointed counsel (such as a parent whose rights are subject to termination in an involuntary termination proceeding, 23 Pa.C.S. § 2313(a.1));
The pilot program is to be loosely modeled on a similar one employed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit;
Participation is limited to indigent pro se litigants who are petitioners or respondents relative to a petition for allowance of appeal in the above substantive areas which has been granted;
David R. Fine, Esquire, is appointed as pro bono coordinator for the pilot program;
Similar to the procedure pertaining in the Third Circuit, the pro bono coordinator will gather a list of experienced appellate attorneys in the Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts who are willing to participate in this Court's pilot program by providing pro bono legal services;
The list will be transmitted to the Chief Justice and Prothonotary of the Supreme Court for approval, with periodic updates as appropriate;
Upon issuance of an order allowing appeal on a qualifying pro se petition or pro se answer, the Prothonotary shall contact the pro bono coordinator and provide him with a copy of such order and the underlying petition for allowance of appeal;
The pro bono coordinator will then contact potential volunteers on the list previously provided to the Court to locate an appropriate volunteer;
Upon provisional selection by the pro bono coordinator, the coordinator will convey the volunteer's name and contact information to the Prothonotary;
The Prothonotary will determine whether the appointment is acceptable to the pro se litigant;
If the appointment is acceptable to the pro se litigant, the Prothonotary will issue an appointment order;
In the interim, the Prothonotary will defer issuance of a briefing schedule and/or scheduling of oral argument pending the appointment of counsel;
If the appointment is unacceptable to the pro se litigant, the Prothonotary will implement the existing procedure for the appointment of counsel;
Upon issuance of an appointment order, the Prothonotary will issue a briefing schedule and/or schedule argument, providing a reasonable amount of time for pro bono counsel to become familiar with the case;
Participation of less-experienced attorneys in the pilot program as volunteers is permissible, but in such circumstances, careful supervision from an experienced appellate lawyer is required to ensure consistent, high-quality representation;
Approximately nine months after the date of this order, the pro bono coordinator will furnish a report to the Court concerning the progress of the pilot program, as well as recommendations for its continued longevity and/or improvement;
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts will issue a press release to give notice to the bar and the public of the availability of this pilot program.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-497. Filed for public inspection March 20, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]
