Erie County Local Rules: A Detailed Guide

The Erie Rules of Court

As in most major counties, local court rules in Erie County are important. Local court rules are the set of uniform rules for each court and county of a state. They provide more detail for specific issues, on which the state court rules are a little vague.
Erie County has its own local court rules for its Supreme Court, Surrogate’s Court, Family Court and District Court. The Local Rules for Erie County were recently restructured. The entire thing was broken down into easily digestible sections and subsections to make it a little easier for you to find what you need.
One thing that remains the same, however , is that it is still almost impossible to know every single rule. So chances are that you are going to miss something without opening the Local Rules. Even if you don’t care, a judge will care. There are always issues, such as service, discovery motions, or things you overlooked.
You can be sure that the judge will be aware of the rules and will expect you to know them. Inadvertent violations of local rules can quickly lead to sanctions or setting you back weeks or months. If you miss a couple of sentences because they are in a rule in the 320s when you stop at 250 or 299, then you will have missed something. Any gaps is cause for concern, and when it comes to courts, they are least forgiving.

Scope of the Local Rules

Erie County local rules encompass a variety of aspects of legal proceedings, ensuring that all parties have a clear understanding of the procedural expectations in the relevant court. The local rules are authoritative guidelines that supplement and clarify the broader standards set forth by the prevailing Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure and the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. Generally, these local rules govern civil procedure, criminal procedure, family law, and guardianship law.
In the context of civil procedure, Erie County local rules regulate the entrance of judgments in civil cases, the protocol for taking depositions, the process for making offers of proof, and jury selection procedures. These rules also include covenants regarding the scheduling of conferences and court appearances. In criminal cases, Erie County local rules dictate the procedures for the issuance of warrants, the filing of pre-trial motions, arraignment protocols, and the convening of preliminary hearings prior to a formal trial. Likewise, the local rules have significant implications for family law, as well as guardianship law and procedures.
In essence, Erie County local rules clarify the various procedures by which the courts of the county operate. They seek to create a degree of uniformity in the courts, ensuring that litigants can expect a general level of conformity with the relevant local rules, provided that no unique procedural order is issued for a specific case. In full, there are 29 civil, 4 criminal, and 11 family law local rules that must be adhered to by all court representatives and litigants. Non-compliance with a given rule may result in sanctions from the court.

Where to Find the Local Rules

The comprehensive resource for legal professionals and the general public to access the Erie County local rules is through the official website for the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Each county in New York State has an online presence where the portal to their local rules reside.
The online portal for Erie County is housed on the official Supreme Court of the State of New York website under the subheading New York County Rules. This section will compile the court rules for Erie County under the index Code of Civil Procedure. The second category for Family Court Proceedings, will link to the Code of Judicial Conduct 9.1 Family Court Proceedings Rules. The 8th category for Criminal will link to Effective September 1, 1998, Administrative Rules Pertaining to County Courts of New York State. The 9th category, the Index Title Court Rules, links to a history of court rules, and lastly the 10th category, Specialty Courts, links to the New York Rules of Evidence, the NYS Judicial Institute, and the Unified Court System.
Links to the rules for each individual court within the Erie County Network can also be found at the Municipal Law Resource Center Online (MLRC) website. The Municipal Law Resource Center is a non-profit that provides access to up to date law and legal information to all New Yorkers. MLRC works together with both public libraries and academic databases which are available to the public online, and within the branch library there is a designated area for legal research, which has a computer equipped with internet access as well as staff assistance available.
MLRC updates its link to the Erie County Local Rules frequently, and many users who once accessed the local court rules through the MLRC portal, may now go directly to the source and conduct an online search for the court rule specific to Erie County.

Recent Amendments

Over the last year, Erie County has made several changes to its local rules. On April 16, 2018, Criminal Rule 302 was amended to provide for pre-sentence conference procedures. Pre-sentence conferences open up a dialogue between the Commonwealth and Defense counsel to explore whether a negotiated plea is possible in a case. As an additional procedural issue, the Rule also requires that cases proceed via a "meet and confer" format with respect to the parties’ pre-trial motions. This format reduces the high volume of paper that a judge had to previously sort through by providing a pre-trial conference between the presiding judge and the attorneys. The purpose of the conference is to narrow pre-trial motions to those that are appropriate for disposition. Notably, upon request, the presiding judge may allow the parties to submit memoranda of law. The Rule also streamlines the criminal schedule by providing set guidelines for determining guilty plea and sentencing dates, as well as sentencing continuances. The note to the Rule provides a robust history of criminal scheduling in Erie County and can be helpful to practicing attorneys.
On March 12, 2018, Civil Rule 4000 was amended and explains how parties obtain redacted, summary criminal histories of prospective jurors. This Rule also explains the procedure for prospective jurors to file petitions to withhold certain information about criminal convictions. Any concerns about a rule’s constitutionality is addressed via paragraph (e) which states in part "this rule supersedes the provision of any local rule currently in effect relating to obtaining summary criminal histories and petitions to suppress criminal history information."
In December 2017, Erie County added Civil Rule 1100 which establishes a procedure for the assignment of civil cases in Erie County. Similar to the Federal Court’s random assignment of new civil cases, Erie County uses this new method of assigning cases. The Rule is divided into four parts: (1) Random Assignment; (2) Newly Filed and Re-Filed Cases; (3) Pending Cases and (4) Scheduling, Reassignment and Re-Filed Cases. The purpose of this Rule is to provide for the random assignment of newly filed civil cases by the Prothonotary. In conforming with the Prothonotary’s standard practices, Erie County will continue to assign cases to the Court of Common Pleas at one of two designated Judges (The President Judge and the Senior Judge). Any requests for special designations or exemptions from this system must be addressed pursuant to the Erie County Local Rules.

The Interaction Between State and Local Rules

Over the years, we have discussed in several blog posts the major differences between the New York State court rules in general, and the Erie County Local Rules specifically. Generally, the New York State Court Rules can be found in the New York Rules of Court, found here: https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/. It is important to note that while the Erie County Local Rules mirror the NYS Courts rules in some respects, they are not identical, and where the local court rules diverge from the NYS Court Rules, the local rules control. For example, while the NYS Courts Rules cap depositions at 7 hours in duration (with a break, NYS Courts Rule 221.2[a]), the local Erie County rule 16.5EC limits depositions to 2 hours each.
There are other significant differences as well. For instance, in New York court cases, Mandatory Disclosure is required of Basic Information such as Witnesses, Documents, Insurance Information, non-parties with relevant information and Basis of Damages . The NYS Courts Rules prescribe specific deadlines to reveal the Basic Information, but the Erie County Local Rules required these disclosures on a rolling basis – in 90-day intervals from the time of issue.
Further, the NYS Courts Rules, by limiting the amount of interrogatories to 25 (NYS Courts Rule 3130), try to limit the cost created by an impatient discovery party seeking to have a party answer a long list of questions, but the Erie County Local Rules allow 35 interrogatories, and if the answering party does not object to the 36th interrogatory within 10 days, answer it anyway. If the answering party does not object, does that prove that the 36th interrogatory is irrelevant or unnecessary? Or does it just provide an opportunity to ask the exact same question, just rephrased? Either way, the result is an additional burden and expense.
These are just a few examples of where the NY State Rules and the Erie County Local Rules differ. Keller Grover knows the differences and the local rules very well and can guide you through the process to make your case be as fruitful to you as possible.

Common Mistakes When Adhering to Local Rules

The most common mistake is that counsel and their support staff are not familiar with the local rule. By way of example, the court’s rule with regard to motions and their filing is entirely different than what is contained in the NYS Civil Practice Laws and Rules. The most common error involves the filing of motions. In Erie County you are required to submit your motion on particular motion days. In other words, if you are planning to make your motion on a Wednesday, the moving papers have to be submitted to the clerk’s office on the prior Wednesday. If you don’t submit your motion on time, the court will not hear the motion. There is a specific motion schedule as well as a form that must be followed, and both are available on this website. You are also required to file the original Notice of Motion, Affidavit and Memorandum of Law with the clerk’s office and then send copies to your adversary. The specific requirements are set forth in detail on this website under the "Filing" section, "Preparing, Serving and Filing Papers" tab. Another common error is that people assume that their motion will be heard by the Judge to which the action is assigned. This is not always true. Sometimes the court will refer the matter to a different judge or it may be on for oral argument before a Surrogate Judge.
Make sure that you wait until the scheduled time to appear before the Judge. Some judges may allow you to come to the bench early and take care of short motions even if the calendar has not yet started. However, you should never assume that you will be heard early and you should appear at the time scheduled in the motion notice. Some judges may decide for various reasons that they do not want to hear a motion because of prior dealings with the parties (although this is not all that common). I’ve only seen this issue arise in commercial matters in the past. If such a situation arises, the Court may reassign the motion to another judge or simply make the calendar for that day.
Finally, and although a little off-topic, I suggest making an effort to be polite and respectful to the court staff – particularly the clerks. Clerks spend long hours working and they have to deal with angry litigants on a regular basis.

Importance of Local Rules in Practice

A critical aspect of ensuring an effective and efficient legal practice in Erie County is the understanding of and adherence to the local rules related to procedures practiced in all Erie County Courts. Those local rules are set forth in the Erie County Rules and can be found online at the following link: http://www.erie.gov/Clerk/Legal/ErieCountyRules.asp
The Erie County local rules, while not an exhaustive treatment of all the procedures and practices that an attorney will encounter , provide a guideline of what the individual judges expect to see. The Erie County local rules also serve as an excellent resource for attorneys who may be new to Erie County or who are filing pleadings in a specific Erie County Court for the first time, as it provides the attorney with fair notice of his/her obligations and the expectations of that specific judge.
The operative point is that attorneys must be familiar with the individual rules and requirements for filings and discovery in their respective settings, courts, and before their respective judges, as there are almost always differences within every court and every judge, all of which are reflected in the Erie County Rules.