PRINTER'S NO. 2262
No. 1839 Session of 1979
INTRODUCED BY SCIRICA, RHODES, SPENCER, BERSON, FISHER AND
KUKOVICH, OCTOBER 15, 1979
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, OCTOBER 15, 1979
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, permitting district
3 attorneys to preapprove certain criminal proceedings.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Title 42, act of November 25, 1970 (P.L.707,
7 No.230), known as the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, is
8 amended by adding a section to read:
9 § 8933. Approval of initial proceedings by district attorney.
10 (a) Submission to district attorney.--
11 (1) As used in this section, "criminal process" shall
12 include police criminal complaints, arrest warrants, search
13 warrants, nontraffic citations and nontraffic summonses.
14 (2) The district attorney of any county may, at any time
15 and at his sole discretion, require that one or more types of
16 criminal process be submitted to him or his designee or
17 designees for approval or that one or more types of criminal
18 process related to a particular offense or class or grade of
1 offense be so submitted for approval, prior to submission to
2 any court for filing or for issuance of process or for any
3 other judicial action.
4 (b) Approval requirement.--In counties where the district
5 attorney requires his approval as provided in subsection (a),
6 the issuing court shall not take any action without the approval
7 of the district attorney or his designee or designees, on the
8 types or categories of criminal process which the district
9 attorney has designated as requiring his approval.
10 (c) Notice to courts.--A district attorney electing to
11 exercise the authority provided in subsection (a) shall file
12 written notice of his intent with the chief officer of every
13 police department in the county and with the president judge of
14 the judicial district and, in Philadelphia, with the president
15 judges of the common pleas court and the municipal court. The
16 president judge of the court of common pleas in all counties,
17 and in Philadelphia the president judge of the municipal court,
18 as well, shall immediately notify in writing all county judicial
19 officers of the district attorney's action pursuant to
20 subsection (a). Thirty days after the filing of this notice the
21 district attorney may exercise authority set forth in subsection
22 (a).
23 (d) Reasons for refusal.--In any case where the district
24 attorney's approval is required pursuant to the authority
25 granted in subsection (a), and the district attorney has refused
26 to approve any criminal process, the district attorney shall
27 file a statement of the reason or reasons for such refusal with
28 the court pursuant to local rule.
29 (e) Provisions not applicable to Attorney General.--In no
30 event shall any provision of this section requiring the approval
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1 of a district attorney be applicable to any criminal process
2 initiated by or at the direction of the Attorney General.
3 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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