The district justices are part of the unified judicial system of the Pennsylvania court system and are governed by the Pennsylvania Rules of Court as promulgated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On a local level the fourteen district courts within Lehigh County are under the supervision and direction of President Judge William H. Platt. The day-to-day management of the district court offices and staff are under the supervision of the District Justice Administrator, H. Gordon Roberts.

Each district justice is elected to a six-year term of office and serves within their magisterial district. District Justices hold hearings on summary cases (both traffic and non-traffic related matters), civil cases with a monetary limit of $8,000, landlord / tenant cases, and conduct preliminary hearings on misdemeanor and felony cases. Additional duties include presiding over hearings relative to Protection From Abuse (PFA) matters, issuing search warrants, setting bail, conducting marriages, holding preliminary arraignments both during office hours as well as during scheduled night duty sessions, and completing preliminary hearings in Central Court. Central Court was established to hold preliminary hearings for all incarcerated defendants. District Justices are assigned to a rotating schedule of Central Court sessions so those defendants are not transported unnecessarily within the community. In addition, the district justices are assigned to a rotating schedule of Night Court. The Pennsylvania Rules of Court require that a district justice be available at all times after established business hours of the Court of Common Pleas. Therefore, a schedule exists which indicates the on duty district justice for nights, weekends and holidays.

The District Courts, as part of the unified judiciary of Pennsylvania, are linked together with the state administrative office, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC), through a statewide computer network. This computer network allows for the uniform entry of case processing information including names of the parties, criminal charges, fines and costs, payment information and civil judgments. In addition, the use of the Internet for the automated docketing of certain cases within the Lehigh County district courts has allowed our county to be a leader in this technological aspect of case processing. In addition, the use of credit cards for the payment of fines and costs, although still on a trial basis, has assisted with enhancing revenue to the county.

Other District Justice & Magisterial District Information:

District Justice Contact Information