Title 255—LOCAL
COURT RULESMERCER COUNTY Public Access Policy; Official Case Records of the Magisterial District Courts; No. 2010-2504 [40 Pa.B. 4153]
[Saturday, July 24, 2010]Order And Now, this 29th day of June, 2010, in accordance with the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 4301(b), and pursuant to the Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Official Case Records of the Magisterial District Courts, adopted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court effective July 1, 2010, the Court Hereby Approves, Adopts and Promulgates Mercer County Administrative Order 4 A.D. 2010, effective thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, pursuant to Rule 239 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. This Order shall be utilized to ensure a policy is in place to govern public access to the records of the Magisterial District Courts of the Thirty-fifth Judicial District.
It is also Ordered and Directed that the Court Administrator of Mercer County shall file seven (7) certified copies of this Order with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, furnish two (2) certified copies and one (1) diskette to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and file one certified copy with the Minor Court Procedural Rules Committee.
It is further Ordered and Directed that Local Rules shall be kept continuously available for public inspection and copying in the Office of the Prothonotary of Mercer County. Upon request and payment of reasonable costs of reproduction and mailing, the Prothonotary shall furnish to any person a copy of the Local Rules.
A copy of this Administrative Order shall be published in the Mercer County Law Journal.
By the Court
FRANCIS J. FORNELLI,
President JudgeIN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF MERCER COUNTY, THIRTY-FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER # 4 2010 Public Access Policy: Official Case Records of the Magisterial District Courts of Mercer County 1. Public Access Request.
(a) Verbal requests for records are to be filled within 48 hours.
(b) Information subject to a sealing order, restricted by law or court rule, and the courts notes, drafts and work product are not accessible to the public.
(c) Magisterial District Courts have the discretion to require that a ''complex or voluminous'' request be submitted in writing on a form supplied by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Exactly what is ''complex or voluminous'' may vary from court to court depending on factors such as court resources and case load.
(d) All denials for record requests must be issued in writing and the requestor, within 15 business days of notification of the decision, can appeal such denial to the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas.
2. Fee Schedule
(a) Copy per page—$.25.
(b) Preparing, copying and refilling requested court documents—$8.00 per 1/4 hour with a minimum of 1/4 hour.
(c) Postage—at cost.
(d) Estimated costs to be prepaid.
(e) Fees paid for services rendered are nonrefundable
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 10-1321. Filed for public inspection July 23, 2010, 9:00 a.m.]
