(a) When a defendant is held for court, orafter the issuing authority receives notice that the case will be presented tothe indicting grand jury and closes out the case, the issuing authority shallprepare a transcript of the proceedings. The transcript shall contain all theinformation required by these rules to be recorded on the transcript. It shallbe signed by the issuing authority, and have affixed to it the issuingauthority's seal of office.
(b) Theissuing authority shall transmit the transcript to the clerk of the propercourt within five days after holding the defendant for court or after closingout the case upon receipt of the notice that the case will be presented to theindicting grand jury.
(c) Inaddition to this transcript the issuing authority also shall transmit thefollowing documents:
(1) the originalcomplaint or a copy thereof if electronically transmitting the transcript andassociated documents;
(2) thesummons or the warrant of arrest and its return;
(3) all affidavits filed in theproceeding;
(4) the appearance orbail bond for the defendant, if any, or a copy of the order committing thedefendant to custody;
(5) a requestfor the court of common pleas to issue a bench warrant as required in Rule543(D)(3)(b);
(6) notice informingthe court of common pleas that the defendant has failed to comply with thefingerprint order as required in Rule 543(D)(3)(b)(ii); and
(7) a copy of the notice that the case willbe presented to the indicting grand jury.
(d)Electronic Transmission.
(1) The president judge by local rule mayrequire the transcript and any associated documents to be electronicallyscanned and transmitted to the clerk of courts in digital format in lieu oftransmitting the physical paper transcript and associated documents.
(2) The electronically scanned transcript andassociated documents shall constitute the original documents for purposes ofthese rules.
(3) The issuingauthority shall retain the physical paper transcript and associated documentsas may be required by rule of court or records retention policies.
Comment:
See Rule 135 for the general contents of the transcript. There are a number of other rules that require certain things to be recorded on the transcript to make a record of the proceedings before the issuing authority. See, e.g., Rules 542(G)(1)and 543.
When the case is held for court pursuant to Rule 543(D)(3), the issuing authority must include with the transcript transmittal a request for the court of common pleas to issue a bench warrant.
When the case is held for court pursuant to Rule 543(D)(3)(b)(ii), the issuing authority must include with the transcript transmittal a notice to the court of common pleas that the defendant has not complied with the fingerprint order issued pursuant to Rule 510(C)(2). See Pa.R.Crim.P.543(D)(3)(b)(ii). The court of common pleas shall take whatever actions deemed appropriate to address this non-compliance.
See Chapter 5 Part E for the procedures governing indicting grand juries. Pursuant to Rule 556.2(A)(3), the judge shall notify the issuing authority that the case will be presented to the indicting grand jury. Pursuant to Rule 556.2(A)(3)(a), upon receipt of the notice, the issuing authority shall close out the case in his or her office, and forward it to the court of common pleas for all further proceedings. When the case is transmitted to the court of common pleas, the clerk of courts should associate the transcript and other documents transmitted by the issuing authority with the motion and order filed pursuant to Rule 556.2(A)(5).
When arrest warrant information has been sealed pursuant to Rule 513.1, the arrest warrant information already will have been filed with the clerk of courts. When the case is transmitted to the court of common pleas, the clerk of courts should associate the transcript and other documents transmitted by the issuing authority with the original file created for the sealing procedure.
For when the magisterial district court or the Philadelphia Municipal Court is required to transmit the contact information of the victim to the court of common pleas, see 18 P.S. §11.201(2)(iii)(B).
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.
![234 Pa. Code § 547 - [Effective 4/1/2025] Transmittal of Transcript and Associated Documents (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)