Rule 600; Delay; Commonwealth due diligence during pandemic
Commonwealth v. Lear, 290 A.3d 709 (Pa. Super. 2023), allocatur granted Oct. 3, 2023, appeal dockets 90 – 92 MAP 2023
In this case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider whether the Commonwealth must prove it exercised due diligence in order for judicial delay arising from emergency orders issued during the pandemic to be excluded from a Rule of Criminal Procedure 600(C) computation of time, which provides that:
(C) Computation of Time
(1) For purposes of paragraph (A), periods of delay at any stage of the proceedings caused by the Commonwealth when the Commonwealth has failed to exercise due diligence shall be included in the computation of the time within which trial must commence. Any other periods of delay shall be excluded from the computation.
This case arises from Jason Andrew Lear’s conviction for aggravated assault and theft offenses. The criminal complaints against Lear were filed on May 19, June 8, and July 17, 2020. Lear’s non-jury trial commenced on November 1, 2021, more than 365 days after the filing of all three complaints. During this time Montgomery County entered a number of judicial emergency orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
On March 16, 2020, Montgomery County declared a judicial emergency and ordered that the operation of Rule 600 would be suspended “during the period of the local judicial emergency.” Declaration, 3/16/20. On March 31, 2020, Montgomery County extended the judicial emergency to April 30, 2020, again ordering Rule 600 to be suspended. Declaration, 3/31/20. On April 14, 2020, Montgomery County extended the judicial emergency to May 31, 2020. On May 5, 2020, Montgomery County entered an order rescinding its previous orders effective May 31, 2020. Order, 5/5/20, at 1. It listed virus related protocols that would be effective June 1, 2020. Id. at 1–2. On May 28, 2020, Montgomery County declared that the local judicial emergency would be extended “until further Order of Court.” Declaration, 5/28/20. It ordered that its declaration included the provisions of the order from May 5, 2020. Id.
On June 3, 2020, Montgomery County ordered “that any postponement of criminal case scheduling caused by the declaration of this judicial emergency, from March 12, 2020 through the expiration of the judicial emergency, shall be considered a court postponement and shall constitute excludable time for purposes of the application of Rule of Criminal Procedure 600.” Order, 6/3/20. This lasted until August 31, 2021. See Order, 8/30/21. It is this period, from June 3, 2020 through August 31, 2021, that is in dispute in this case.
Slip op. at 16. Lear filed a motion to dismiss based on Rule 600, arguing that “although Montgomery County declared a judicial emergency, the delay in his cases was not excludable when it was feasible to hold trial,” noting that other court divisions and other counties held trials while his case was pending. Slip op. at 13. The trial court concluded that the delay in bringing Lear’s cases to trial was a direct result of the judicial emergency and denied Lear’s motion to dismiss. Lear appealed to Superior Court.
Superior Court reversed and remanded for a hearing under Rule 600(D), concluding that: “For such judicial delay to be excluded from the Rule 600(C) computation, the trial court must find that the Commonwealth exercised due diligence.” Slip op. at 18. In so holding, Superior Court relied on Commonwealth v. Harth, 252 A.3d 600, 614 n.3 (Pa. 2021) and Commonwealth v. Carl, 276 A.3d 743 (Pa. Super. 2022) as “fram[ing] the inquiry for the effect of emergency orders on Rule 600” that:
If an order unambiguously suspends Rule 600 without qualification, then the period of the suspension is added to the run date without considering the Commonwealth’s diligence. Carl, 276 A.3d at 751. Alternatively, if an order characterizes a delay as a court postponement, then that period is only excluded if the trial court determines after a hearing that the Commonwealth exercised due diligence through the life of the case. Harth, 252 A.3d at 618.
Slip op at 16.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted allocatur limited to the following issue:
Whether a court must assess the Commonwealth’s due diligence during a worldwide pandemic for purposes of Rule 600 before it excludes delay attributable to a local judicial emergency during which the president judge cancelled and suspended all trials, suspended Rule 600 and otherwise excluded judicial delay caused by the judicial emergency, and implemented strict procedures to protect the public?
For more information, contact Kevin McKeon or Dennis Whitaker.