The Supreme Court has adopted new Pa.R.O.C.P. 1.22, which provides that “Citation of authorities in matters subject to these rules shall be in accordance with Pa.R.A.P. 126.” “In re: Order Adopting Rule 1.22 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Orphans’ Court Procedure, No. 936 Supreme Court Rules Docket” (2/13/2023), 53 Pa.B. 1052 (2/25/2023). (Rule 1.22 was “attached” to the order, but is a separate document on the AOPC server.)

Pa.R.A.P. 126(b)(2) states that “Non-precedential decisions as defined in (b)(1) may be cited for their persuasive value.”  “Non-precedential decision” is defined by (b)(1) to include an unpublished non-precedential memorandum decision of the Superior Court filed after May 1, 2019.

An Adoption Report of multiple rules committees, including the Orphans’ Court rules committee, was also docketed.

The new rule will be effective April 1, 2023.

[DBE Comment: I have not regularly reported opinions of the Superior Court labeled “non-precedential” because I took the Superior Court at its word and thought that the opinions were non-precedential. But it now appears that non-precedential decisions are semi-precedential. So I will be reporting non-precedential opinions in the future.]