MINOR JUDICIARY / MAJOR IMPACT

It is probable that most people in West Chester base their conclusions about the quality of justice in Pennsylvania upon their experience in the District Courts. Because these are the only courts most people have reason to experience, if at all, they are often thought of as the "people's courts." Approximately 2.7 million cases are filed and disposed of in the minor judiciary on an annual basis.¹ A total of 141,780 cases were filed in Chester County District Courts in 2008 (see map), and District Judges disposed of 141,763 cases.²

In 2008, 14,090 cases were filed in District Court 15-1-04 alone.³ Despite being one of the smallest districts in the county (less than 1 square mile, approximately 1/2 of West Chester Borough), this court had the highest number of non-traffic filings (quality of life crimes) and the 4th highest number of criminal filings in the county (see the 2008 District Justice Statistics for Chester County).

This court collected $1,560,449.77 and disbursed $1,364,679.94 during 2008 — $418,523.36 to the Commonwealth, $420,985.90 to Chester County, and $438,502.63 to the Borough of West Chester (see the 2008 Citations Report for West Chester Borough). For a history of West Chester statistics from 2003-2008, see District Court 15-1-04 Court Charts.

Pennsylvania's district courts are responsible for processing:

• motor vehicle violations, such as traffic tickets;
• summary offenses, such as disorderly conduct, harrassment, public drunkenness, and certain shoplifting cases;
• local ordinance violations, such as parking regulations, noise, and property maintenance;
• landlord–tenant matters
• civil claims that do not exceed $8,000 ("small claims"), such as contractor/homeowner disputes, and payment collections.

Criminal cases are filed at the appropriate District Court for preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings. Magisterial District Judges also preside over certain Protection From Abuse matters.⁴

Magisterial District Judges,⁵ previously known as justices of the peace and more recently as district justices,⁶ have been a part of the judicial system of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1776 and have been chosen through local elections since 1838. The Pennsylvania Constitution, rewritten in 1968, provides the current framework for the Commonwealth's court system. The pinnacle of this system is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and the foundation is the minor judiciary, or special courts. The District Court system is the largest component of the minor judiciary, and its jurisdiction is established by the General Assembly.⁷

Information summarized from Intergovernmental Task Force To Study The District Justice System, October 2001, published by the Administrative Office of the Pennslvania Courts, available at http://www.courts.state.pa.us/index/supreme/djstaskforce/indexdjstfreport.asp
¹ See e.g., 2007 Caseload Statistics of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, published by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, available at http://www.pacourts.us/NR/rdonlyres/6EFED480-6733-4C5B-9931-A90FC40F9A20/0/2007Report.pdf
2 From the Statistics section of the Chester County District Justice Administration website, available at http://dsf.chesco.org/districtjustices/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=608415
3 Chester County District Justice Administration.
4 From the District Judge Overview section of the Chester County District Justice Administration, available at http://dsf.chesco.org/districtjustices/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=608492
5 Supreme Court Order of January 6, 2005, in accordance with Act 207-2004, effective January 29, 2004 (references to "district justice" are deemed a reference to "magisterial district judge")
6 Act of April 28, 1978, P.L. 202, No. 53, §3(d), 42 P.S. §20003(d) (statutory references to "justices of the peace" are also deemed to refer to "district justices")
7 P. Const.art.V, §7(a); district justice's jurisdiction is codified at 42 Pa. C.S. §1515(a).