§ Rule 101. Scope and citation of the rules

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Rule 101. Scope and citation of the rules

(a) Scope. These rules of evidence shall govern proceedings in all courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's unified judicial system, except as otherwise provided by law.

(b) Citation. These rules of evidence are adopted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania under the authority of Article V § 10(c) of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, adopted April 23, 1968. They shall be known as the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence and shall be cited as “Pa.R.E.”

Comment: A principal goal of these rules is to construct a comprehensive code of evidence governing court proceedings in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. However, these rules cannot be all-inclusive. Some of our law of evidence is governed by the Constitutions of the United States and of Pennsylvania. Some is governed by statute. Some evidentiary rules are contained in the Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the rules governing proceedings before courts of limited jurisdiction. Traditionally, our courts have not applied the law of evidence in its full rigor in proceedings such as preliminary hearings, bail hearings, grand jury proceedings, sentencing hearings, parole and probation hearings, extradition or rendition hearings, and others. Traditional rules of evidence have also been relaxed to some extent in custody matters, see, e.g.,Pa. R.C.P. 1915.11(b) (court interrogation of a child), and other domestic relations matters, see, e.g.,Pa. R.C.P. 1930.3 (testimony by electronic means). The Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence are not intended to supersede these other provisions of law unless they do so expressly or by necessary implication.

These rules are applicable in the courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's unified judicial system. In some respects, these rules are applicable in administrative proceedings. See, e.g., Gibson v. W.C.A.B., 580 Pa. 470, 861 A.2d 938 (2004)(evidentiary rules 602, 701 and 702 applicable in agency proceedings in general, including workers' compensation proceedings). These rules are also applicable in compulsory arbitration hearings, with specific exceptions relating to the admissibility of certain written evidence and official documents. Pa. R.C.P. 1305.