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Rule 556.2 – Proceeding by Indicting Grand Jury Without Preliminary Hearing

May 14, 2021 | Criminal Procedure, Pennsylvania

(A) After a person is arrested or otherwise proceeded against with a criminal complaint, the attorney for the Commonwealth may move to present the matter to an indicting grand jury instead of proceeding to a preliminary hearing.

(1) The motion shall allege facts asserting that witness intimidation has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur.
(2) The motion shall be presented ex parte to the president judge, or the president judge’s designee.
(3) Upon receipt of the motion, the president judge, or the president judge’s designee, shall review the motion. If the judge determines the allegations establish probable cause that witness intimidation has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur, the judge shall grant the motion, and shall notify the proper issuing authority.

(a) Upon receipt of the notice from the judge that the case will be presented to the indicting grand jury, the issuing authority shall cancel the preliminary hearing, close out the case before the issuing authority, and forward the case to the court of common pleas as provided in Rule 547 for all further proceedings.
(b) Once the case has been forwarded to the court of common pleas, the case shall not be remanded to the issuing authority.
(4) The order granting the motion or the order denying the motion, and the motion shall be sealed.
(5) The attorney for the Commonwealth shall file the sealed order and the sealed motion with the clerk of courts.
(B) If not already assigned, the president judge shall assign one of the judges in the judicial district to serve as the supervising judge for the indicting grand jury.
(C) If the motion is granted, the case shall be presented to the grand jury within 21 days of the date of the order, unless:

(1) the grand jury proceedings are waived by the defendant with the consent of the attorney for the Commonwealth; or
(2) the attorney for the Commonwealth elects not to present the case to a grand jury.

If the case is not presented to the grand jury as provided in this paragraph, the defendant is entitled to a preliminary hearing in the court of common pleas.

234 Pa. Code ยง 556.2

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the new rule published with the Court’s Order at 42 Pa.B. 4153 (July 7, 2012) .