December 2020 Supreme Court Session

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s December argument session, originally scheduled to be held in the Harrisburg Supreme Courtroom, will be held via videoconference pursuant to the protocols set forth herein.

The arguments will be held Tuesday, December 1 and Wednesday, December 2 (see the argument schedule at http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Supreme/out/December2020DailyArgumentList.pdf).

LIVESTREAM: Tues., Dec. 1 - Morning: https://youtu.be/o1QGfMIyYvs

LIVESTREAM: Tues., Dec. 1 - Afternoon: https://youtu.be/lnhoQ_Oa0MI

LIVESTREAM: Wed., Dec. 2 - Morning: https://youtu.be/7GfP85hBh5o

LIVESTREAM: Wed., Dec. 2 - Afternoon: https://youtu.be/4gknofcE778

Please consult this webpage or follow @PACourts and @SupremeCtofPA on Twitter for updates.

Argument will not be divided except upon good cause shown and any request for such division should be made by filing a formal motion with the prothonotary’s office no later than Friday, October 16, 2020. Only arguing counsel will be permitted to participate in the videoconference - other counsel of record and counsel for amicus curiae should consult the “Information for the Media and the Public” section on this page for information about viewing the argument.

WITHIN THREE DAYS OF RECEIVING THE PROTHONOTARY’S NOTICE SCHEDULING YOUR CASE FOR ARGUMENT, arguing counsel must review the remainder of this page and send an e-mail to the court crier, Brian Minner, at brian.minner@pacourts.us, with the following information:

Docket Number:

Name of Arguing Counsel:

E-Mail Address:

Cell Phone:

If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within two business days of submitting your argument acknowledgment, please contact the court crier at 717-412-5630. (Note: please check your spam folder before calling).

December’s remote oral argument will proceed in a manner similar to traditional in-person oral argument. Appellant's counsel will have two minutes for opening remarks after which argument will transition to a question and answer format; Appellee will proceed in a similar fashion.

At the conclusion of each argument, the Court will take a brief break at which time counsel for the next argument will join the videoconference. Additional details regarding the protocols for oral argument and schedule will be addressed during the test sessions on Thursday, November 19 (see below).

The Court will be using Cisco’s Webex software to conduct oral argument.To participate in oral argument, arguing counsel must have the following technical capacity:

• A computer with a webcam, or tablet/smartphone running iOS or Android
• An internet connection download speed of 1.0 Mbps and upload speed of 1.5 Mbps (to test your internet connection, please visit https://www.speedtest.net/)

Arguing counsel must also be available to participate in the tests scheduled below:

• Thursday, November 19 at 10:00 a.m. for those cases scheduled on December 1
• Thursday, November 19 at 11:00 a.m. for those cases scheduled on December 2

If you have any questions not addressed in this section, please do not hesitate to contact brian.minner@pacourts.us.

Barring any unanticipated technical issues, December's argument session will be livestreamed on the court's official YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/SupremeCtofPAOfficial/) and kept available for future viewing.

Recording during oral argument by videoconference is prohibited by the operating procedures of this Court and the Rules of Judicial Administration. See Sections 9.A.2 and 9.A.3 of the Internal Operating Procedures of the Supreme Court; see also Rule 1910 of the Rules of Judicial Administration, 201 Pa. Code §1910. Violation of this directive may result in the imposition of sanctions.

If you have questions, please contact stacey.witalec@pacourts.us or kimberly.bathgate@pacourts.us.