Rule Text
A. Scope of conference. At any time after the filing of a petition, upon motion, or upon its own motion, the court may order the parties to appear before it for a conference.
B. Objections. The parties shall have the right to record an objection to rulings of the court during the conference.
C. Record. The court shall place on the record the agreements or objections made by the parties and rulings made by the court as to any of the matters considered in the pre-adjudicatory conference. Such order shall control the subsequent proceedings unless modified at the adjudicatory hearing to prevent injustice.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 1342 amended April 6, 2017, effective September 1, 2017, 47 Pa.B. 2313. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (326083) to (326084).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
A judge can call a meeting with all parties involved in a juvenile case at any time after a petition has been filed. Either side can also ask for this meeting. These conferences happen before the main hearing where the judge decides if the charges are true.
During the conference, any party has the right to formally disagree with a judge's decisions and have that disagreement noted. The judge must write down everything that was agreed upon, any objections made, and any decisions reached during the meeting. These written decisions will guide how the rest of the case moves forward, unless a judge changes them later at the main hearing to avoid an unfair outcome.
Committee Notes
This rule does not prevent other forms of pre-adjudicatory conferences. A judge may order a pre-adjudicatory conference between parties without the judge’s presence at the conference to discuss preliminary matters.
Under paragraph (A), the court may consider: 1) the terms and procedures for pre-adjudicatory discovery and inspection; 2) the simplification or stipulation of factual issues, including admissibility of evidence; 3) the qualification of exhibits as evidence to avoid unnecessary delay; 4) the number of witnesses who are to give testimony of a cumulative nature; 5) whether expert witnesses will be called; 6) whether the hearing will be scheduled in front of the juvenile court hearing officer or judge; and 7) such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the proceeding.
Rule 1342 adopted August 21, 2006, effective February 1, 2007. Amended April 6, 2017, effective September 1, 2017.
Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 1342 published with the Court’s Order at 36 Pa.B. 5599 (September 2, 2006).
Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 1342 published with the Court’s Order at 47 Pa.B. 2313 (April 22, 2017).
