[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of York County
at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The District Justice is the Presiding Judge of this Court.
This is the beginning of our judicial system. The public's
perception of our court system begins with this Court. If this Court
does not have the proper facilities and the properly trained help
and if everyone in this Court does not conduct themselves in the proper
judicial way, the public's perception is that the system does
not work.
A.
All criminal cases must be filed and heard by the District Court
Judge, which include summaries, misdemeanors and felonies.
B.
All traffic citations must be filed in this Court and heard by the
District Court Judge.
C.
All fish/game violations must be filed in this Court and heard by
the District Court Judge.
D.
All landlord/tenant complaints must be filed in this Court and heard
by the District Court Judge.
E.
All civil suits, up to $8,000, may be filed in this Court and heard
by the District Court Judge.
F.
All township/borough ordinances must be filed in this Court and heard
by the District Court Judge.
A.
Summary criminal cases, such as criminal mischief, harassment, disorderly
conduct, bad checks, public drunkenness, trespassing, underage drinking
and retail theft, must be heard by the District Court Judge, either
through an arraignment or trial to determine innocence or guilt.
B.
Misdemeanors of the third degree may be heard by the District Court
Judge to determine innocence or guilt.
C.
Misdemeanors of the second and first degree, along with all felonies,
must be heard through a preliminary hearing by the District Court
Judge to determine if the commonwealth can prove a prima facie case.
All traffic citations must be filed with the District Court.
A trial is held if a plea of not guilty is entered. On major traffic
violations, an arraignment, along with a trial, must be heard by the
District Court Judge to determine innocence or guilt.
All citations must be filed with the District Court, and trials
must be held on all cases where there is a plea of not guilty entered
to determine innocence or guilt.
All complaints must be filed with the District Court, and trials
must be held by the District Court Judge, if the defendant requests
a hearing, to determine judgment for the defendant or plaintiff. If
judgment is not satisfied, executions of that judgment are issued
by the District Court and a levy of personal property is done by the
constables and/or Sheriff's Department. Later, sales may be held
to satisfy those judgments.
All complaints must be filed with the District Court, and trials
are held by the District Court Judge to determine the rights of the
landlord and tenant. Money judgments can be assessed, as well as possession
of the property. Executions of those money judgments can be issued
and evictions can be issued by this Court. Constables and/or deputy
sheriffs may make levies and hold sales for money judgments, as well
as evictions from the property.
All complaints must be filed in the District Court, and the
District Court Judge determines innocence or guilt.
The District Justice Court has most of the same responsibilities
as the Common Pleas Court Judges of York County. The Judge and his
employees wear many hats, such as:
A.
Clerk of Courts: keep records of Court dockets, collect fines and
costs and carry out the orders of the Court.
B.
Sheriff: use constables for levies, sales and evictions for civil
suits and landlord/tenant complaints.
C.
Juvenile Court: order work programs and types of probation, order
drug and alcohol programs and work with the parents of all juveniles.
D.
Prothonotary: record all judgments from civil suits and landlord/tenant
complaints.
E.
Court Administrator: schedule trials, arraignments and Rule 85 hearings
and supervise all Court personnel.
