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In This Issue Official newsletter of the Pennsylvania Judicial System Issue 2, 2020 In this issue Read about new judicial education resources for judges, legislative updates, COVID-19 impacts on caseload stats, county court highlights and more. This format has allowed children to participate, in what might normally be a confusing and stressful hearing, from The accidental where they are comfortable. upside of virtual Additionally, the ease with which most children are able to use phones and tablets make it so that children are able to speak directly to the judge in a very casual and hearings authentic manner (rather than in a formal, and sometimes intimidating courtroom setting). Putting children and trauma Another unforeseen benefit of these virtual hearings victims at ease has been that they can help spare victims of domestic violence from the stressful experience of having to be While a number of courts have recently started to in the same room as their abuser. In New York, family resume in-person hearings, some courts have found courts are considering making virtual hearings available that conducting dependency proceedings via video to litigants seeking protection orders even after the conference continues to offer some advantages for pandemic is over. children and families. For all the inevitable glitches and technical issues that “What we’ve heard from judges is that children are come with anything virtual, this solution seems to help generally very comfortable with the virtual forum – and make the court system more accessible for a group of courts are even seeing many more parents in attendance traditionally vulnerable court users. While the future as transportation and child care are no longer an issue,” use of technology in the courts after the pandemic may said Sandra Moore, Office of Children and Families in the vary by jurisdiction, many states have already begun Courts director. discussing it as a permanent solution for some cases. New benchcard and benchbooks distributed to Pa judges Human-trafficking Benchcard Restitution Benchbook A new resource for judges, the Also to be distributed to all Pennsylvania Human Trafficking Common Pleas judges across Judicial Benchcard, was sent to the state, the first edition of Common Pleas and Magisterial the Pennsylvania Restitution District judges across the state Benchbook aims to provide best at the end of July. practices for judges to consider when imposing restitution. Developed by the AOPC and the Institute to Address The benchbook examines Commercial Sexual Exploitation the basic principles and at The Villanova University concepts when restitution must Charles Widger School of be addressed and includes Law, the benchcard highlights procedural checklists for judges to reference at the important definitions and sections of Pennsylvania’s anti- various phases of prosecution – at sentencing, in juvenile trafficking laws and reflects the recent changes in the law court and as a condition of probation. that went into effect on April 6, 2020. Superior Court President Judge Jack Panella was joined As victims of human trafficking are frequently arrested by fellow Superior Court Judges Alice Beck Dubow, and charged with crimes, the resource includes a list of Judith Ference Olson and Victor P. Stabile in writing and the most common offenses victims have been charged developing this comprehensive resource in coordination with and indicates those crimes that are eligible to be with the AOPC Judicial Education department. vacated. The benchcard also provides useful insight into the crimes of sex and labor trafficking by listing the locations and Guardianship Benchbook types of businesses where trafficking most often occurs, This month, the Advisory Council as well as victim indicators that can be observed in a Guardianship on Elder Justice in the Courts court setting. Bench Book PENNSYLVANIA published the first edition of “We hope this benchcard will help identify potential the Pennsylvania Guardianship The Advisory Council on Benchbook in an effort to help victims of human trafficking and encourage using trauma- Elder Justice in the Courts informed practices when presiding over human trafficking and judges navigate the complex The Administrative Office cases,” said Amy Kehner, Judicial District Operations and of Pennsylvania Courts issues involved in guardianship Programs administrator. cases. The new resource was created using STOP Grant funds – “Determinations of whether a federal grant money annually administered through the 2020 guardianship is appropriate, Office of Violence against Women (OVW) to help enhance or how to arrive at the least efforts to combat violence against women. restrictive form of guardianship, involves the striking of a balance between protection and autonomy, and has The benchcard was developed to serve as a companion always been a challenging inquiry,” PA Supreme Court piece to the continuing education session on human Justice Debra Todd explained. trafficking held by the Minor Judiciary Education Board (MJEB) last year, in addition to the series of four webinars This benchbook outlines the laws pertaining to recently offered to court staff. guardianships, offers alternatives to guardianships and provides guidance on how to identify and appoint To request copies of this benchcard at no charge to guardians. It reflects the accumulated wisdom of judges Pennsylvania judges and court staff, please email and practitioners who focus on guardianships and will [email protected]. serve as a valuable resource for Pennsylvania’s Orphans’ Court judges. Cybersecurity reminders from IT This content was assembled from the August and As always, please report any suspicious or unusual September IT Security Newsletters. emails to [email protected]. Even if you are unsure, the AOPC’s IT Security team can validate it for you. AOPC’s Network Security team has seen an increase of malicious emails directed toward users. While our layered Spam, phishing attacks and other scams aren’t limited to security will eliminate most of these attempts, some will email – they’re also becoming increasingly prevalent on inevitably manage to get through. social-networking sites. Social media While social media offers many advantages in both our professional and personal lives, it also opens the floodgates for misuse, privacy concerns and phishing or posting attacks. As a refresher, the AOPC IT security team suggests some basic tips that everyone should be aware of when on social media: • Safeguard personal info – There is always the potential that the information you share online could be used maliciously. Don’t overshare personal information on social media and never publish detailed personal information such as your street address, telephone number or where you work. Detecting a malicious email • Use privacy settings – Understand and use social • A malicious email can appear nearly identical to media privacy settings wisely. that of a financial institution, an e-commerce site, a • Check website legitimacy – Before sending or government agency or any other service or business. entering sensitive information online, check the • It may urge you to act quickly claiming an urgent security or legitimacy of the website. Be cautious of issue that needs to be addressed (i.e. your account websites with similar URLs. has been compromised, your order cannot be fulfilled etc.). Call for Entries AOPConnected is always looking for stories. Do you know of a court- related community project or award? Contact the AOPC Communications Office with the scoop! Email: [email protected] Miss an issue? Check out our newsletter archive online at http://www.pacourts.us/judicial- administration/office-of-communications-and-intergovernmental-relations 4 Legislative roundup by Damian J. Wachter, Esq. Budget Expungement and Clean Slate As noted in the prior roundup, a five-month budget was House Bill 440 expands the expungement statute to adopted in May to fund state operations, including those include judicial determinations of full acquittals, and the of the Judiciary. The legislature must pass legislation Clean Slate limited access provisions to include pardons. funding the remaining seven months of the 2020-21 fiscal The legislation passed the House unanimously and is year by November 30. This day represents not only the pending in the Senate, where it is likely to pass in the end of the stop-gap budget timeframe, but it is also the coming weeks. The bill also ensures that restitution and day the legislature will adjourn marking the end of the automation fees are fully paid before a defendant is current session. eligible for either limited access or clean slate limited access. Probation reform Custody It is likely that some reform measures will pass and be enacted into law before the end of the session. Senate Bill 868 makes several substantive changes to House Bill 1555 and Senate Bill 14 and similar reform the custody statute, with a focus on the health and safety proposals. Elements of the bills include modification of of the child. The changes include modifying the custody probation conditions, parameters for total confinement factors and adding offenses to the list of crimes that, when upon revocation, probation review conferences and committed by a party or a member of the household, must administrative probation for failure to pay restitution. be considered by the court before it issues a custody The Senate unanimously passed SB 14, and it has been order. Further, the legislation allows the AOPC to develop referred to the House Judiciary Committee. House Bill training for judges, court personnel, guardians ad litem, 1555 was moved from the House Judiciary Committee and counsel for children, masters and meditators, focusing is pending on second consideration. on abuse, bias, trauma and neglect. The legislation was unanimously passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee – its long-term prospects for passage are not yet known. COLA suspension House Bill 2487 was passed unanimously by the House District attorney vacancies and the Senate. As of this writing, it is expected to be signed by the governor. The bill precludes a COLA of Act 78 of 2020 was signed by the governor on Sept.
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