Pennsylvania Code › Title 237 - JUVENILE RULES › Part I - RULES › Subpart B - DEPENDENCY MATTERS › Chapter 13 - PRE-ADJUDICATORY PROCEDURES › Part D - PROCEDURES FOLLOWING FILING OF PETITION › Rule 1340 - Discovery and Inspection

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
A.
Informal
. Before any party can seek any disclosure or
					 discovery under these rules, the parties or their counsel shall make a good
					 faith effort to resolve all questions of discovery, and to provide information
					 required or requested under these rules as to which there is no dispute. When
					 there are items requested by one party that the other party has refused to
					 disclose, the demanding party may make an appropriate motion to the court. Such
					 motion shall be made as soon as possible prior to the hearing. In such motion,
					 the party shall state that a good faith effort to discuss the requested
					 material has taken place and proved unsuccessful. Nothing in this rule shall
					 delay the disclosure of any items agreed upon by the parties pending resolution
					 of any motion for discovery.
B.
Mandatory disclosure
.
1)
By the county agency
. In all cases, on request by a party and
					 subject to any protective order which the county agency might obtain under this
					 rule, the county agency shall disclose to a party, all of the following
					 requested items or information, provided they are material to the instant case.
					 The county agency shall, when applicable, permit a party to inspect and copy or
					 photograph such items:
a) the name and last
					 known address of each witness to the occurrence that forms the basis of
					 allegations of dependency unless disclosure is prohibited by law;
b) the name and last known address of each
					 witness who did not witness the occurrence but is expected to
					 testify;
c) copies of any written
					 statements made by any party or witness unless disclosure is prohibited by
					 law;
d) any results or reports of
					 scientific tests or expert opinions that are within the possession or control
					 of the county agency that the county agency intends to use as evidence at a
					 hearing;
e) any police reports,
					 records of prior county agency involvement, or records of current or prior
					 reports involving the Child Protective Services Law,
					 23 Pa.C.S. §
														6301 et
					 seq., that the county agency intends to use as evidence at a hearing;
f) if any physical or mental condition of a
					 party is in controversy, any physical or mental examinations, including oral or
					 written reports that a party intends to use as evidence at the
					 hearing;
g) any tangible objects,
					 including documents, photographs, or other tangible evidence unless disclosure
					 is prohibited by law;
h) the names,
					 addresses, and curriculum vitae of any expert witness that a party intends to
					 call at a hearing and the subject matter about which each expert witness is
					 expected to testify, and a summary of the grounds for each opinion to be
					 offered; and
i) any other evidence
					 that is material to adjudication, disposition, dispositional review, or
					 permanency unless disclosure is prohibited by law, and is within the possession
					 or control of the county agency;