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Family courts

     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides for one Court of Common Pleas with a determined number of judges for each judicial district. In 2023, the General Assembly issued an amendment to Section 911(a) of Title 42 that changed the number of judges in some counties. That amendment added one judge to the 44th Judicial District for Wyoming and Sullivan County. Source: Title 42 - PA General Assembly

 

     Title 42 Subchapter D Section 951 also specifies court divisions by population. The only specified Family Court Divisions are in Allegheny and Philadelphia counties. Source: Title 42 - PA General Assembly

 

     While a President Judge of a Common Court of Pleas assigns cases to the judges serving in each judicial district (Title 42 - PA General Assembly), all judges must be prepared to hear any and all cases that might come in front of the bench.

 

Term length

     Some voters may be concerned that Candidate Richard Huffsmith will reach the mandatory judicial retirement age of 75 in 2031. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has several options available to avoid a costly special election in this type of situation. If elected to the bench in 2025, Rick would be allowed to serve the remainder of the year when he turns 75. At that point, one of three things can happen:
 

1. Rick can apply for “Senior Judge” status and be appointed as a visiting judge to serve until the regular election can be held in 2032. Source: Subsection 1.05 Pennsylvania Manual of Court Management – June 2022
    

2. The judicial district can use other visiting judges to fill the void until the next regular election. That is the option being used right now to help clear caseload backlogs. Source: Subsection 29.105 of the Pennsylvania Code
    

3. The Governor can appoint a judge to serve until the regular election. However, that would require two-thirds of the Pennsylvania Senate to vote in favor of the appointment. Source: Article V of the Constitution of Pennsylvania 

 

Caseloads

     Some voters may be under the impression that this is a Family Law judicial position. The Court of Common Pleas for Wyoming and Sullivan Counties does not have a designated Family Law court. The person filling the newly created position will need to hear a large variety of cases.

     In 2023, the last year for which official Commonwealth sanctioned statistics are available, only 35 percent of cases in the district’s system were related to family law. The majority of cases were criminal and civil law cases, with 475 criminal and 669 civil cases available for processing during the year.

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Source: 2023 Court of Common Pleas Caseload Statistics for Wyoming County