A.
Duties of Prothonotary.
(1)
The Prothonotary shall initially screen petitions for allowance of appeal for
compliance with the applicable appellate rules. The Prothonotary shall note if
the following defects are present:
(a) whether
the petition violates the prohibition against hybrid representation;
(b) whether the petitioner has not provided
proper proof of service;
(c)
whether the petitioner has not paid the required filing fee or submitted a
petition to proceed in forma pauperis; and
(d) whether the petition exceeds the
permissible word count limit.
Where any of these four defects are present, the Prothonotary
shall notify the petitioner and afford an opportunity for correction, while
preserving the filing date based upon the initial submission. If the identified
defects are not corrected, the Prothonotary may refuse the petition for filing
without further action of the Court.
Untimely petitions may be refused for filing by the
Prothonotary without further Court action.
(2) 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.
