§ 63.3. Decisional Procedures.

 A. Argument Sessions

   1. Schedule. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, argument sessions shall be scheduled for one week periods during the months of January, March, April, May, September, October and December. Argument sessions shall begin at 9:30 a.m. unless otherwise designated.

   2. Argued Cases.

     a. Death penalty cases are automatically assigned to an oral argument list immediately upon completion of the briefing schedule.

     b. Cases in which allowance of appeal (‘‘allocatur’’) has been granted and cases which have been designated as suitable for oral argument shall be assigned to an argument list upon completion of the briefing schedule.

   3. Direct Appeals.

     Because they would, under a differently structured judicial system, have gone to intermediate appellate courts for evaluation, direct appeals shall be submitted for screening rather than automatically accepted for oral argument. Therefore, as soon as briefs are received, all direct appeals other than death penalty cases will be assigned by the prothonotary to a justice on a rotating basis by seniority for preparation of a Disposition Memorandum, which will contain a short recitation of the facts, a brief discussion of the issues, and a recommendation of whether the case should be resolved by 1) a per curiam order; 2) affirmance on the opinion of the court below, plus, where possible/necessary a brief statement of matters not covered by that opinion; 3) submission on briefs; or 4) should be listed for oral argument. Each Disposition Memorandum shall be circulated to the Court within sixty (60) days of assignment, with contemporaneous notice to the prothonotary. It shall then be placed on a supplemental list for consideration and vote at the same time as opinions. (See IV. Opinions. A. Circulation schedule 3. Voting). Disposition Memoranda must be circulated to the Court ten (10) days prior to the list date to be placed on the vote list. The case shall thereafter be disposed of or listed for oral argument in accordance with the vote of the majority. If no clear majority emerges, the case will be listed for oral argument.

   4. Post Conviction Hearing Cases. These appeals are treated in accordance with Rule 2311(b), Pa.R.A.P.

 B. Assignments

   1. Conference. Each day following oral argument the Court shall meet in conference to discuss the cases argued that day. The Chief Justice shall preside at the conference, lead the Court’s discussion, and call for a tentative vote on the decision of each case. The justices shall vote in an inverse order of seniority.

   2. Death Penalty Cases. Cases in which the death penalty has been ordered shall be assigned in a separate rotation based on seniority to assure equal distribution of assignments among the members of the Court.

   3. Civil and Criminal Appeals. Cases shall be assigned by the senior member of the majority in such a manner as to achieve equal distribution of assignments, and to avoid delay in deciding cases. If it appears that due to illness of a justice or for some other reason this purpose is not being served, the Chief Justice may, as a matter of his or her discretion, alter the assignment order.

     In the event a justice to whom a case has been assigned subsequently decides to change his or her vote on the decision of the case and ceases to be among the majority, he or she shall provide a draft opinion along with a cover letter explaining the reason for the change of position.

     Where appeals other than direct appeals have been submitted, the prothonotary shall direct the case to the Court for disposition after completion of the briefing schedule. The Chief Justice will assign the case for preparation of a draft opinion to an individual justice in the rotation established by seniority.

   4. Direct Appeals. An argued direct appeal will be assigned to the justice who prepared the Disposition Memorandum, unless after preliminary vote his or her position is not that of the majority. In such an instance, the assignment shall be made by the senior member of the majority.

     A direct appeal which the Court has determined shall be decided by opinion on the submitted briefs shall be assigned to the justice who prepared the Disposition Memorandum.

   5. Per Curiam Orders

     1) A per curiam order may be used when the Court’s decision:

       a) does not establish a new rule of law;

       b) does not alter, modify, criticize or clarify an existing rule of law;

       c) does not apply an established rule of law to a novel fact situation;

       d) does not constitute the only, or only recent binding precedent on a particular point of law;

       e) does not involve a legal issue of continuing public interest; or

       f) whenever the Court decides such an order is appropriate.

     2) A per curiam order reversing an order of the lower court, must cite to controlling legal authority or give a full explanation as to the reasons for reversal.

   The provisions of this §  63.3 amended September 2, 2005, 35 Pa.B. 5092. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (263357) to (263358) and (229783).