The Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure govern practice and procedure in the Supreme Court, the Superior Court and the Commonwealth Court. The Supreme Court’s Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee periodically publishes proposed rules and proposed amendments to existing rules for public comment. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania periodically issues orders promulgating, rescinding or amending rules, which are then published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and appear in official codifications of the rules in on-line and hard copy versions of the Pennsylvania Code.
Pennsylvania Appellate Advocate will provide timely notice of proposed amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure and associated comment deadlines. We also will provide timely notice of amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure as they are adopted and promulgated by the Supreme Court, along with associated effective dates.
Supreme Court Amends Appellate Rules 1115 and 1116 to Address Waiver
By order dated December 7, 2021, the Supreme Court has adopted amendments to Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure 1115 and 1116, which require petitions for allowance of appeal to contain a statement identifying the where in the record issues were raised or preserved, and further encourages parties to raise waiver issues in opposition to a petition for allowance of appeal or through an application pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1972. The changes become effective April 1, 2022.
A series of amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure that go into effect May 1, 2020 will standardize procedures that affect hybrid representation, counsel withdrawal limitations where a party is entitled to counsel, and nunc pro tunc petitions for allowance of appeal in criminal cases in which the defendant directed counsel to file but counsel failed to do so timely.
Supreme Court Debuts Chapter 16 of the Appellate Rules and Reorganizes Chapters 13 and 15
The Supreme Court has adopted changes to the Rules of Appellate Procedure that will limit the scope of Chapter 15, and the use of a “petition for review” as an initiating document, to traditional administrative agency appeals, certain other enumerated appeals from similar adjudications (such as those involving administrative matters decided by boards within the Unified Judicial System), and original jurisdiction actions against the Commonwealth.
Pa. R.A.P. 126 has been amended to provide that unpublished “non-precedential” opinions issued by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania after May 1, 2019 (thus, unpublished non-precedential opinions issued on and after May 2, 2019) may be cited for their persuasive value.
The Pennsylvania Appellate Rules Committee seeks comment by April 26, 2019 on adoption and amendments to procedural rules related to e-filing of appellate documents.
Supersedeas Rules Formally Recognize Process Gas Standard (Amendment of Pa. R.A.P. 1732 and 1781)
Effective April 1, 2019, the Supreme Court has amended the official notes to Pa. R.A.P. 1732 (relating to stays or injunctions pending appeal in civil matters) and Pa. R.A.P. 1781 (relating to stays pending action on petitions for review), to formally acknowledge that the courts utilize the criteria set forth in Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission v. Process Gas Consumers Group, 467 A.2d 805 (Pa. 1983) to evaluate a request for a stay pending appeal.
Effective January 1, 2018, the new Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Case Records of the Appellate and Trial Courts will go into effect affecting information contained in court filings.
Guidance on Cross-Appeals and Cross-Petitions (Proposed amendments to Pa. R.A.P. 511)
The Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee is proposing to amend the Note to Pa. R.A.P. 511 to provide formal guidance concerning when to file a cross-appeal and when to file a cross-petition for allowance of appeal.
Juvenile Case Captions – Proposed Amendments (Proposed amendments to Pa. R.A.P. 904 & 907)
The Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee is proposing to amend Pa. R.A.P. 904 and 907 to specify a new format for case captions in appeals involving the Juvenile Act and the Adoption Act.
For more information, contact Kevin McKeon or Dennis Whitaker.