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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Phyllis Mundy |
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Pa. Supreme Court changes rules to reflect Mundy subpoena proposal
HARRISBURG, Feb. 29 –
The
Pennsylvania Supreme Court this week adopted changes to its juvenile delinquency
court proceeding rules in response to legislation authored by state Rep. Phyllis
Mundy that would require parents to be notified if their child is subpoenaed to
appear in court.
Mundy’s
H.B. 301, which unanimously passed the House this session, would include
parents, guardians or legal custodians in the legal process by requiring they
receive a copy of subpoenas involving a child in their care. The Supreme Court
will now require that caretakers be notified, as recommended by Mundy, when
previously only the minor or juvenile being subpoenaed was notified. The rule
changes also require that guardians be notified immediately should the minor or
juvenile be taken into custody pursuant to a bench warrant.
Mundy authored the legislation following the arrest of a
Luzerne County boy whose mother was not notified when her son was subpoenaed to
testify about an incident he witnessed on school grounds. Police later arrested
the boy during school and placed him in a juvenile detention center for failing
to appear at the hearing. Authorities also failed to notify the mother when they
issued a warrant for the boy’s arrest.
“I am pleased the court has taken action to include parents
in delinquency proceedings because not doing so causes unnecessary stress for
everyone involved,” Mundy said.
“Children are the responsibility of their parents. The mother
involved in this case asserted that had she been notified of her son’s subpoena
and the hearing date, she would have ensured his attendance,” she said.
Mundy noted that by adopting new rules in its juvenile
proceedings, the Supreme Court also is guaranteeing that parents will be
notified regardless of whether their child is a witness to, or perpetrator of, a
crime.
“The boy in this case was only 13 years old and merely a
witness to the crime. While there are serious juvenile crimes that require swift
action by police, this was not one of them,” she said. “There will be more
cooperation in future proceedings, thanks to the court’s adoption of new rules.”
Mundy added that the Supreme Court hears both delinquency and
dependency cases involving children and is also in the process of adopting new
rules for its dependency proceedings.
She said the court also adopted a new rule to help
differentiate between the children involved in both cases. The term “minor” will
refer to a witness and “juvenile” will refer to the subject in proceedings. This
will help the court and law enforcement use better judgment in issuing arrest
warrants.
“The bottom line is that parents will be kept in the loop no
matter what role their child plays in a delinquency case,” Mundy said.
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