The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s amendment of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure to include a mandate that a trial court judge be present in the courtroom for jury selections in civil cases unless the litigants opt out of the requirement goes into effect today, April 1, 2025.
This Rule can be found under Pa. R.C.P. 220.3 and can be seen at this LINK.
Here is a LINK to my article on this topic that appeared in the Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine five years ago in a March/April 2020 edition of the magazine. The article reviews the jurisprudence on the issue back then, which jurisprudence has since led to the current amendment to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure regarding voir dire. The article also reviews the benefits of having a Judge stay on the bench during voir dire, especially for the prospective members of the jury.
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