In Re: Order Amending Rule 407 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure

JUVENILE COURT PROCEDURAL RULES COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT1 AMENDMENT OF Pa.R.J.C.P. 407 On January 23, 2017, the Court amended Juvenile Court Procedural Rule 407 to further simplify the admission form and to require an addendum when the juvenile is admitting to an act of sexual violence. Admission Form As proposed, the Committee recognized the challenge of creating a more “child- friendly” form while retaining the form’s purpose as a vehicle to convey important information to juveniles. To that end, the amendments were intended to be modest and to simplify the form, increase readability, and incorporate more age-appropriate language. Based upon comments received, some of the language proposed to be eliminated has been retained, other language has been further refined, and a new Question 19 added to the form advising the juvenile of their right to withdraw their admission in certain circumstances. Act of Sexual Violence A new paragraph (D) has been added to Rule 407 to require colloquy of the juvenile when admitting to an act of sexual violence. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 6358(a) (enumerating offenses). The purpose of this colloquy is to ensure that the juvenile is aware that he or she may be subject to court-ordered involuntary treatment upon attaining 20 years of age pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 6403. The new paragraph requires an addendum to the admission form to include the form set forth in paragraph (D). 1 The Committee’s Final Report should not be confused with the official Committee Comments to the rules. Also note that the Supreme Court does not adopt the Committee’s Comments or the contents of the Committee’s explanatory Final Reports.