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Rule 843 – Optional Pretrial Hearing

May 14, 2021 | Criminal Procedure, Pennsylvania

(A) If the parties agree, the issue of the defendant’s mental retardation precluding imposition of a sentence of death shall be determined by the judge after a pretrial evidentiary hearing.
(B) The defendant shall appear in person with counsel at the hearing.
(C) The defendant shall have the burden of going forward with the evidence.
(D) No later than the beginning of the evidentiary hearing, the judge shall advise the defendant that, by agreeing to have the issue of his or her mental retardation decided pretrial, the defendant, if found not mentally retarded and later convicted, will not be permitted to seek a preclusion of the imposition of a sentence of death due to mental retardation with a jury. In these cases, however, the defendant may introduce relevant evidence concerning his or her mental state at the guilt phase and the penalty phase, including evidence in support of statutory mitigation.
(E) The attorney for the Commonwealth and the defendant’s attorney may introduce evidence and cross-examine any witness, including the examining mental health experts. The judge may call and interrogate witnesses as provided by law.
(F) Within 30 days of the completion of the evidentiary hearing, the judge shall enter an order finding either that the defendant is mentally retarded and therefore is precluded from receiving a sentence of death or that the defendant is not mentally retarded.

234 Pa. Code ยง 843

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the July 31, 2013 adoption of the new rule published with the Court’s Order at 43 Pa.B. 4722 (August 17, 2013) .