On September 7, 2023, the Commission submitted formal comments to the PA Supreme Court Criminal Procedural Rules Committee, in response to its publication of revised proposed amendments to existing state court rules. The Commission’s comments supported many of the published amendments, such as the proposal’s removal of overly-broad justifications for which bail may be assigned to a defendant. The Commission also suggested amendments to several of the proposed rules by, for instance, recommending that the Committee refine the list of factors a court may review when determining whether a defendant is bailable and advocating for a reduced length of time within which a hearing on conditions of bail must occur.
The Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission
for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness
