Pennsylvania Code › Title 210 - APPELLATE PROCEDURE › Part II - INTERNAL OPERATING PROCEDURES › Chapter 63 - INTERNAL OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE SUPREME COURT › Section 63.6 - Allowance of Appeal

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
A.
Assignment
. The Prothonotary shall initially screen petitions
				for allowance of appeal for compliance with the applicable appellate rules.
				Untimely petitions may be refused for filing by the Prothonotary without
				further action of the Court.
Petitions for allowance of appeal shall be assigned to
				  individual Justices by the Prothonotary on a rotating basis by seniority for
				  preparation of an allowance of appeal report. Petitions from the same district
				  presenting the same question shall be consolidated; petitions from different
				  districts that present the same question may be consolidated at the discretion
				  of the Court.
B.
Circulation and Disposition.
Allowance of appeal reports shall
				be circulated within ninety (90) days of the receipt of such an assignment. The
				proposed disposition date shall not be greater than sixty (60) days from the
				date of circulation. Holds may be placed on petitions for allowance of appeal
				only upon written notice to the members of the Court as to the reasons for the
				hold, e.g., the existence of another petition from another district presenting
				the same question. No hold may be placed on a petition without the existence of
				a terminus, e.g., the issuance of an opinion on a petition presenting the same
				question. Where a hold results from the existence of another petition
				presenting the same issue, the parties shall be notified of the hold and the
				case that will determine the issue. A hold for the purpose of preparing a
				counter-report shall not exceed thirty (30) days; only by vote of the majority
				may a hold be extended beyond thirty (30) days, but in no event shall a hold
				for such purpose exceed ninety (90) days.
Notwithstanding any contrary procedures set forth above,
				  allowance of appeal reports in Children's Fast Track appeals are to be
				  circulated within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the assignment, and the
				  proposed disposition date shall not be greater than thirty (30) days from the
				  date of circulation. A hold for purposes of preparing a counter-report in a
				  Children's Fast Track appeal shall not exceed fifteen (15) days; only by vote
				  of the majority may a hold be extended beyond fifteen (15) days, but in no
				  event shall a hold exceed forty-five (45) days.
Upon the affirmative vote of three or more Justices,
				  allowance of appeal will be granted and the case will be listed for oral
				  argument, unless the order indicates that the matter will be submitted on the
				  briefs. An order granting a petition for allowance of appeal shall specify the
				  issues upon which allowance of appeal was granted.
A per curiam order granting allowance of appeal and reversing
				  an order of the lower court must cite to controlling legal authority or provide
				  a full explanation of the reasons for reversal.
A Justice may request that the order resolving the petition
				  for allowance of appeal record that he or she voted for a different
				  disposition. All orders shall indicate if a Justice did not participate in the
				  consideration or decision of the matter.
C.
Reconsideration
				Applications.
1.
Assignment.
The Prothonotary shall direct applications for
				reconsideration to the Justice who authored the allowance of appeal
				report.
2.
Circulation and
				Disposition.
The assigned Justice shall circulate to the Court a
				recommended disposition within fourteen (14) days of the date of the
				assignment, or within seven (7) days of the date of assignment in Children's
				Fast Track appeals. A Justice who disagrees with the recommended disposition
				shall circulate a counter-recommendation within fourteen (14) days of the
				original recommendation, or within seven (7) days of the date of the original
				recommendation in Children's Fast Track appeals. A vote of the majority is
				required to grant reconsideration. In any case in which reconsideration has
				been denied, a Justice may request that the order record that he or she voted
				to grant reconsideration. All orders shall indicate if a Justice did not
				participate in the consideration or decision of the matter.