Superior Court appeals relating to child custody are supposed to be "fast tracked" in recognition of the fact that in the life of a child, a year is a long time. But, a land speed record was attained on February 11 when the Superior Court affirmed a Montgomery County Common Pleas order entered less than four months earlier. The ruling by Judges Panella and Olson with Senior Judge Fitzgerald offers some more insight into what appellate courts are asking trial courts accomplish when conducting trials in custody cases.
The key ruling of the case is procedural. The trial was conducted in April, 2014. The judge ordered the parties to return the following day for the Court's ruling. The Court spoke at length (44 pages) analyzing the factors under the custody statute and then concluding with an oral Order based on that analysis. The judge directed his ruling to be transcribed so that the Order portion of the transcript would function as the final order in the case. When the child's mother appealed the Court's ruling the Trial Court held that its oral Order was not appealable since it was not recorded on the docket. This created an issue in its own right because Pa. R.C.P. 1915.10(a)-(b) says, in part, that "The Trial Court shall state the reasons for its...
