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Rule 550 – Pleas of Guilty Before Magisterial District Judge in Court Cases

May 14, 2021 | Criminal Procedure, Pennsylvania

(A) In a court case in which a magisterial district judge is specifically empowered by statute to exercise jurisdiction, a defendant may plead guilty before a magisterial district judge at any time up to the completion of the preliminary hearing or the waiver thereof.
(B) The magisterial district judge may refuse to accept a plea of guilty, and the magisterial district judge shall not accept such plea unless there has been a determination, after inquiry of the defendant, that the plea is voluntarily and understandingly tendered.
(C) The plea shall be in writing:

(1) signed by the defendant, with a representation by the defendant that the plea is entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently; and
(2) signed by the magisterial district judge, with a certification that the plea was accepted after a full inquiry of the defendant, and that the plea was made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently.
(D) A defendant who enters a plea of guilty under this rule may, within 30 days after sentence, change the plea to not guilty by so notifying the magisterial district judge in writing. In such event, the magisterial district judge shall vacate the plea and judgment of sentence, and the case shall proceed in accordance with Rule 547, as though the defendant had been held for court.
(E) Thirty days after the acceptance of the guilty plea and the imposition of sentence, the magisterial district judge shall certify the judgment, and shall forward the case to the clerk of courts of the judicial district for further proceedings.

234 Pa. Code ยง 550

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the August 22, 1997 amendments that clarify the procedures following a district justice’s acceptance of a guilty plea and imposition of sentence in a court case published with the Court’s order at 27 Pa.B. 4548 (September 6, 1997) .

Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 Pa.B. 1478 (March 18, 2000) .

Final Report explaining the December 9, 2005 changes to the rule clarifying the magisterial district judges’ exercise of jurisdiction published with the Court’s Order at 35 Pa.B. 6896 (December 24, 2005) .

Final Report explaining the January 6, 2014 changes to the rule increasing the time for withdrawal of the guilty plea from 10 to 30 days published with the Court’s Order at 44 Pa.B. 478 (January 25, 2014) .