PA State Archives - RG-62 - Series Titles

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Pennsylvania State Archives
RG-62
Records of the UNIFIED JUDICAL SYSTEM

Article V of the Constitution of 1968 made major changes in Pennsylvania's system of law courts. A Unified Judicial System (UJS) was created which involved a shift from the principle that judicial power vests in the individual courts to the principle that all judicial power of the Commonwealth is vested in the UJS. By the new arrangement, all courts are made subject to the supervision and administrative control of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is authorized to appoint a Court Administrator and such subordinates as may be necessary to aid it in the supervision and control of the UJS. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts has been created and is responsible for the prompt and proper disposition of the business of all courts. The 1968 Constitution specifies the courts as follows:

Supreme Court
Superior Court
Commonwealth Court (a new state-wide court)
Courts of Common Pleas
District Justices (aka. "Justices of the Peace" in magisterial districts, that is, subdivisions of judicial districts, but NOT in Philadelphia City or in judicial districts which already have Community Courts)
Community Courts (where adopted by electorate of the judicial district)
Municipal Court, City of Philadelphia
Traffic Court, City of Philadelphia
"such other courts as may be provided by law"

The Superior Court was created in 1895. It hears all appeals from Courts of Common Pleas unless they have been assigned to the Supreme Court or Commonwealth Court. Such appeals include all criminal cases except those involving felonious homicide. The Superior Court also has very limited original jurisdiction.

Created in 1968, the Commonwealth Court hears cases relating to the activities of the state and its agencies. Its original jurisdiction includes civil actions against the Commonwealth or any of its officers. Exceptions exist in the areas of eminent domain and in habeas corpus. Its appellate jurisdiction covers appeals from Courts of Common Pleas except where an action is within the jurisdiction of the Supreme or Superior Courts. Such appeals include civil actions and proceedings involving the state, criminal actions and proceedings involving state administrative agencies, appeals concerning local administrative agencies, all eminent domain proceedings, and interpretations of acts of the General Assembly, home-rule charters, or local ordinances or resolutions.

The Courts of Common Pleas are primarily trial courts with original jurisdiction on most serious criminal and civil cases not specifically assigned to another court. Matters having to do with inheritance, divorce, child custody, and adoption are also heard in this court. Legislative statutes determine the extent of judicial districts and the number of judges in each Court of Common Pleas. Currently, the sixty-seven counties are divided into sixty judicial districts. Seven of these districts are composed of two counties (Cameron and Elk, Columbia and Montour, Forest and Warren, Franklin and Fulton, Juniata and Perry, Snyder and Union, and Sullivan and Wyoming), while the rest consist of one county each. Each judicial district has one court of Common Pleas, but they may be organized into division as provided by the legislature. These divisions may include Civil, Criminal, Juvenile, Family, and Orphans' Courts.

Courts below the Courts of Common Pleas are grouped together as Special Courts or Minor Judiciary. They do not use juries and, except for the Philadelphia Municipal Court, are "courts of no record." Thus, if a citizen appeals from such a court, no record can go with the appellant and the case is heard over again as if it were new. The Constitution guarantees citizens a right of appeal from a court not of record to a court of record. Special courts now consist of District Justices, Philadelphia's Municipal and Traffic Courts, and Pittsburgh's Housing and Traffic Courts. Pittsburgh also has five magistrates, appointed by the mayor, who hold arraignments and preliminary hearings for criminal offenses occurring within the city. Justices of the Peace were reformed, reorganized, and renamed "District Justices" in 1967-1968, although the term still appears in the Constitution. As yet, no judicial district's electorate has opted to form a Community Court.

For records of the Supreme Court to 1971 see RG-33.

For records of the Superior Court to 1967 see RG-38.

Administrative Office Of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC)

Pennsylvania Judiciary News, 1978-1983 (not inclusive). (2 folders) {#62.1} [Description] [Holdings]

Minor Judiciary Eduation Board

Manuals, 1972, 1986, [ca. 1994]. (3 folders) {#62.2} [Description] [Holdings]

Special Court Judges Association of Pennsylvania

The Journal, 1977-1995 (not inclusive). (19 folders) {#62.3} [Description] [Holdings]

PA State Archives Hours, Directions, & Fees Research Topics Finding Aids for Collections Land Records