Section 141. Bench Warrants for Absconders

A. Issuance of warrant. The juvenile probation officer shall immediately notify the court upon notification or recognition that a juvenile has absconded from the supervision of the court. The court may issue a bench warrant for the juvenile.

B. Entry of warrant information. Upon being notified by the court, the juvenile probation officer or other court designee shall enter or request that a law enforcement officer enter the bench warrant in all appropriate registries.

C. Where to take the juvenile. The juvenile shall be detained in a detention facility or other facility designated in the bench warrant pending a hearing pursuant to paragraph (D).

D. Prompt hearing.

1) The juvenile shall have a detention hearing within seventy-two hours of the placement in detention.

2) A court may utilize advanced communication technology pursuant to Rule 129 for a juvenile or a witness unless good cause is shown otherwise.

E. Time requirements. The time requirements of Rules 240, 391, 404, 510, and 605 shall be followed.

F. Notification of guardian. When the juvenile is taken into custody pursuant to a bench warrant, the arresting officer shall immediately notify the juvenile’s guardian of the juvenile’s whereabouts and the reasons for the issuance of the bench warrant.

G. Return and execution of the warrant.

1) The bench warrant shall be executed without unnecessary delay.

2) The bench warrant shall be returned to the judge who issued the warrant or to the judge designated by the President Judge to hear bench warrants.

3) When the bench warrant is executed, the arresting officer shall immediately execute a return of the warrant with the judge.

4) Upon the return of the warrant, the judge shall vacate the bench warrant.

5) Once the warrant is vacated, the court shall order the probation officer or other court designee to remove or request that a law enforcement officer remove the warrant from all appropriate registries.

Comment

Pursuant to paragraph (A), when a juvenile: 1) escapes from a placement facility, detention facility, shelter care facility, foster-care, or other court-ordered program or placement; 2) fails to report to juvenile probation; 3) cannot be located by juvenile probation; or 4) otherwise leaves the jurisdiction of the court, the court may issue a warrant for the juvenile.

Pursuant to paragraph (B), the court is to notify the juvenile probation officer or another court designee to enter or request that a law enforcement officer enter the bench warrant in all appropriate registries, such as JNET, CLEAN, PCIC, and NCIC.

Pursuant to paragraph (C), the juvenile is to be detained in a detention facility or any other facility designated in the bench warrant. If a juvenile is taken into custody pursuant to the bench warrant in a county other than the county of issuance, the juvenile is to be transported back to the county of issuance prior to the seventy-two-hour detention hearing mandated pursuant to paragraph (D)(1).

Pursuant to paragraphs (D)(1) and (E), the time requirements of the Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure are to apply, including the seventy-two hour detention hearing. See, e.g., Rules 240, 391, 404, 510, and 605.

The arresting officer is to notify the juvenile’s guardian of the arrest, the reasons for the arrest, and the juvenile’s whereabouts under paragraph (F).

Pursuant to paragraph (G)(2), the bench warrant is to be returned to the judge who issued the warrant or to the judge designated by the President Judge to hear warrants by the arresting officer executing a return of warrant. See paragraph (G)(3).

Pursuant to paragraph (G)(4), the bench warrant is to be vacated after the return of the warrant is executed. ‘‘Vacated’’ is to denote that the bench warrant has been served, dissolved, executed, dismissed, canceled, returned, or any other similar language used by the judge to terminate the warrant. The bench warrant is no longer in effect once it has been vacated.

Pursuant to paragraph (G)(5), once the warrant is vacated, the juvenile probation officer or other court designee is to remove the warrant or request that a law enforcement officer remove the warrant from all appropriate registries so the juvenile is not taken into custody on the same warrant if the juvenile is released.

Official Note

Rule 141 adopted September 30, 2009, effective January 1, 2010. Amended April 21, 2011, effective July 1, 2011.

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 141 published with the Court’s Order at 39 Pa.B. 6029 (October 17, 2009).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 141 published with the Court’s Order at 41 Pa.B. 2319 (May 7, 2011).

The provisions of this Rule 141 adopted September 30, 2009, effective January 1, 2010, 39 Pa.B. 6029; amended April 21, 2011, effective July 1, 2011, 41 Pa.B. 2319. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (346243) to (346245).