Trial Court Procedures

The following steps must be taken by defense counsel to waive appearance at Formal Arraignment during the judicial emergency:

  • Defense counsel must enter their appearance on behalf of the Defendant.
  • After the Praecipe for Appearance has been filed with the Department of Court Records, defense counsel may download and complete the Waiver of Appearance at Formal Arraignment form.
  • Once completed, the Waiver of Appearance at Formal Arraignment form must be forwarded to ccformalarraignment@alleghenycourts.us.
  • The email must include defense counsel and the defendant’s phone number, email address, and mailing address.
  • The Formal Arraignment Office will review the waiver request and determine if the Criminal Information has been filed by the District Attorney’s Office.
  • If the Criminal Information has been filed, the Formal Arraignment Office will email the attorney of record the information and all paperwork along with the judge assignment and a subpoena for the defendant to appear on the scheduled Pretrial Conference date or Phoenix Court date. When required, a Court Reporting Network (CRN) appointment will be included in the paperwork; the defendant shall attend the scheduled CRN appointment and complete the full drug/alcohol assessment, if required, prior to the scheduled court date.
  • If the case is eligible for ARD, information will be provided to defense counsel to contact the District Attorney’s ARD Unit and complete the ARD interview. Upon receipt of the ARD paperwork from defense counsel showing that the defendant has been accepted into the ARD program, the Formal Arraignment Office will provide an ARD date and subpoena to defense counsel via email.
  • If the Criminal Information has not been filed, the Formal Arraignment Office will reschedule the Formal Arraignment date and notify defense counsel of the new date.
  • Defense counsel will sign the subpoena on the defendant’s behalf with the defendant’s permission or will make arrangements for the defendant to sign the subpoena and return it to the Formal Arraignment Office by email.
  • Pretrial Conferences for defendants should be conducted by email, telephone, or videoconferencing, but may be conducted in person.
  • Defense counsel may accept a subpoena on a defendant’s behalf by completing a Waiver of Appearance at Formal Arraignment form.
  • Defendants who are not represented by an attorney must appear in person to schedule their cases unless other arrangements have been made by court staff, in which case the Pretrial Conference(s) may be conducted by telephone or videoconferencing

  • After the defendant completes the ARD interview and accepts the ARD offer, the defendant will receive a subpoena from the Court Arraignment Office with the hearing date and time noted.
  • ARD Court staff will email defense counsel (or the defendant, if not represented) the ARD Packet with instructions to complete it and return it at least seven (7) days prior to the ARD hearing date.

  • On all Phoenix cases. a full discovery packet, sentencing guidelines, and an offer are presented to the defendant at the time of Formal Arraignment.
  • The Phoenix Hearing will be conducted remotely through advanced communication technology primarily through Microsoft Teams unless extenuating circumstances exist that justify an in-person proceeding.
  • The remote Plea Packet should be completed and sent to the assigned courtroom staff four (4) business days before the assigned court date. The protocol during the Plea Hearing via remote access will also be followed.
  • If the Phoenix Offer is rejected, a Rejection of Phoenix Offer and Election to Proceed to Trial form must be completed and filed with the Court.
  • A trial date will then be set by the Court and the Case Status Conference protocol must be then followed.

When a matter is scheduled as a remote plea or hearing, all paperwork shall be emailed to court staff 48 hours prior to the scheduled plea or hearing date, or, in the case of a defendant who is incarcerated, 24 hours prior to the plea or hearing date.

If the case will be a plea, the following paperwork should be included:

  • Request for Remote Hearing *
  • Instructions for Scheduling a Remote Plea *
  • Guilty Plea Colloquy *
  • Waiver of Rights and Consent to Plea/Sentencing by Video Conference *
  • Adult Probation Intake Form *
  • General Rules and Conditions of Probation Acknowledgement Form *
  • Sentencing Guidelines
  • Restitution Form

*Denotes items included in the Plea Packet.

If the case is a Domestic Violence case, include also:

If the case is a SORNA case, include also:

  • Specific Special Conditions of Probation
  • General Rules and Condition of Probation Acknowledgement Form
  • Sexual Offender Registration/Notification Act (SORNA) Colloquy

The SORNA Packet includes the three forms below as well as all of the forms in the Plea Packet denoted by * above.