Good morning and thank you for allowing me to answer this question for
you. Let me begin by stating that I am not a lawyer and I cannot give
you legal advise; however I can tell you I have worked as a paralegal
in several different legal fields for over 5 years and understand the
processes of the Court filing system.
With that said, here is the case information:
CASE NUMBER: CP-36-CR-0002291-2003
FILED: 5/19/2003
CASE NAME: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Vaughn Allen Holding
COUNTY: Lancaster County
STATUS: Adjudicated (To hear and settle (a case) by judicial procedure)
Source: Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System
( http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/WebDocketSheets/CPDocketSelect.aspx )
Official court records held by the Clerk of the Court are presumed to
be open to any member of the public for inspection or to obtain copies
at all times during regular hours of operation at the office having
custody of the records to the extent allowed by applicable statute,
court rule or court order. The procedure for obtaining a criminal
record varies depending upon the jurisdiction, which holds the record,
and the purpose for which you require the record.
I contacted the Criminal Record Keeper in Lancaster County, PA and
spoke to them about obtaining a copy of this court record. I was
informed that the public can view and get copies of any court record
in their office but the record cannot leave the office. Being that
this court case was in 2003, they should have the file on hand. The
cost for copying is $1.00 per page ($2.00 per page if it involves a
minor child. If that is the case, you can view the court file BUT
they will redact all information about the child [name, DOB, address,
etc.])
You can contact the Criminal Record Keeper at 717-299-8275 if you have
any questions. You will get an automated system - do not press
anything ? stay on the line for a live person. I personally spoke
with Rachel. The actual office is located at:
Lancaster County Courthouse
50 North Duke Street , 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 83480
Lancaster, PA 17608-3480
Records included in this file would be Petition/Complaint, Summons of
Service, Motions, Orders, Stipulations etc. All the ?legal? filings.
HOWEVER, according to your question, you are looking at obtaining
privileged information (i.e., witness statements, transcripts,
Interrogatories & Request for Production of Documents (?discovery?
information) etc.) Pennsylvania Rule 1.6. Confidentiality of
Information states:
(a) A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to representation
of a client unless the client gives informed consent, except for
disclosures that are impliedly authorized in order to carry out the
representation, and except as stated in paragraphs (b) and (c).
(b) A lawyer shall reveal such information if necessary to comply
with the duties stated in Rule 3.3.
(c) A lawyer may reveal such information to the extent that the
lawyer reasonably believes necessary:
(1) to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm;
(2) to prevent the client from committing a criminal act that the
lawyer believes is likely to result in substantial injury to the
financial interests or property of another;
(3) to prevent, mitigate or rectify the consequences of a client?s
criminal or fraudulent act in the commission of which the lawyer?s
services are being or had been used; or
(4) to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a
controversy between the lawyer and the client, to establish a defense
to a criminal charge or civil claim or disciplinary proceeding against
the lawyer based upon conduct in which the client was involved, or to
respond to allegations in any proceeding concerning the lawyer?s
representation of the client; or
(5) to secure legal advice about the lawyer?s compliance with these Rules; or
(6) to effectuate the sale of a law practice consistent with Rule 1.17.
(d) The duty not to reveal information relating to representation of
a client continues after the client-lawyer relationship has
terminated.
Source: Pennsylvania Code
( http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/204/chapter81/s1.6.html )
I sincerely doubt you will be able to obtain any of the information
you are looking for because that is deemed ?confidential?.
According to the Lancaster County Police Department, you CANNOT obtain
a criminal police report without a subpoena the court in the county
that the crime was committed in. If you have any questions about
this, you can call the Lancaster County Police Department at
(717)735-3300.
I hope this answers your question. If anything needs clarification,
please do not hesitate to ask.
Nenna-GA
Google Researcher |
Clarification of Answer by
nenna-ga
on
01 Jun 2005 13:17 PDT
According to the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania District Court
Website, the following steps need to be taken in order to request a
court transcript:
1. Indicate in which division of court the proceedings occurred.
2. Indicate the full caption of the case - No abbreviations, please.
3. Indicate all information/file numbers which are to be transcribed.
4. For each type of hearing which is to be transcribed, fill in the
date of the hearing, the name of the judge who presided at the
hearing, and the name of the court reporter who reported the hearing.
5. Indicate the name of the person who is requesting the transcript.
6. Indicate the reason the transcript is being requested.
7. Leave all other areas of the form blank.
8. Submit to Clerk or Prothonotary for forwarding to appropriate judge
Requests for transcripts must be submitted by form to the Judge who
presided at the hearing being requested. If the presiding Judge
approves the request for transcription, the court reporter will
contact you and make arrangements for payment and delivery of
transcript.
You can download a Request for Transcript Form here:
( http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/courts/cwp/view.asp?a=468&q=507146 )
Or you can go to the Office of Official Court Reporter located at:
50 North Duke Street
P. O. Box 83480
Lancaster, PA 17608-3480
Phone: (717) 299-8091
FAX: (717) 299-8095
Hours of Operation: 8:30 - 5:00 Week days
Local rules governing the procedure for request of transcripts are as follows:
Rule L227.3. Transcript of Testimony.
1. The party filing post-trial motions shall cause the transcript or
portion thereof to support the motion to be transcribed before the
motion is argued.
2. The party requesting the transcript or portion thereof shall
request the same to be transcribed by the Court Reporter in writing
and deliver the request to the Reporter.
3. The party ordering the transcript shall be responsible to pay the
reporter who may refuse to deliver it until paid and when paid shall
be entered as a record cost.
4. Upon agreement of counsel and the Court, the Court may dispose of
the motion without the transcript.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pa. R.J.A. 5000.5(a) requires the request to be delivered to (1) the
reporter, (2) the clerk of the trial court in which the proceeding
took place or in which the reporter is employed, (3) the district
court administrator or the administrator?s designee, and (4) in the
case of an appeal, to the clerk of the appellate court. The request
for transcription of the record may also be made in open court. See
Pa. R.J.A. 5000.5(b).
For rules governing transcript fees and their payment, see Pa. R.J.A.
5000.6, 5000.7, and 5000.11.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rule L5000.7. Fees for Transcripts.
(a) The typing of transcripts and payment under provisions of this
rule are not automatic. All transcripts must be ordered pursuant to
the Uniform Rules Governing Court Reporting and Transcripts Adopted by
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (RJA 5000.1 et seq.)
(b) These local rules are intended to cover matters not covered by the
Pennsylvania Uniform Rules Governing Court Reporting and Transcripts.
(c) In criminal cases where the defendant is represented by private
counsel and in all civil cases except where a party has been permitted
to proceed informa pauperis, the court reporters may charge, and a
party requesting a transcript or copies shall pay, $2.15 per page for
the original which shall be filed with the Clerk of Courts or
Prothonotary, as the case may be, and $1.10 per page for any copy.
(d) Court reporters may require a deposit up to one-half of the
estimated charge for any transcript or copies as a condition precedent
to starting transcription. Court reporters are not required to file
the original transcript and furnish copies until receipt of payment in
full.
(e) These rates shall not apply to any transcripts produced on an
accelerated schedule, i.e., daily copy, overnight or expedited
transcripts.
Source: Pennsylvania Code
( http://www.warrenforestcourt.org/downloads/rules.pdf )
If you need anything else, please let me know!
Nenna-Ga
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