Creating a central court in Butler County as a hub for preliminary hearings in criminal cases might be a way to reduce the workload of the one of the busiest magisterial district courts without changing district court boundaries or adding more magisterial district judges.

County court officials are recommending no changes to the number or the boundaries of the seven magisterial district courts in a review of the district courts.

The court administration office conducts reviews of the magisterial district courts every 10 years at the request of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts to determine if any changes are needed in the number of district courts or their boundaries to balance workloads and caseloads, said Erica Cihonski, deputy court administrator.

Keep all seven districts

“We’re basically asking that they retain all seven magisterial district judges and that no realignment be done in our districts,” Cihonski said.

She said the “reestablishment” recommendation has been sent to the AOPC, which will forward the proposal to the state Supreme Court for a final decision.

According to the reestablishment worksheets posted on court administration office website, district court 50-3-05 presided over by Magisterial District Judge William Fullerton is one of the busiest in the county. The court’s workload of 51,583 is the highest in the county, and its caseload of 4,667 is the second highest.

Caseload is the total number of cases filed at each office. Workload is a weighted number reflecting the amount of time magisterial district judges spend on cases. Criminal cases receive the highest weighted score followed, in order, by landlord-tenant cases, nontraffic citations and ordinance violations, civil cases and traffic citation hearings, court officials said.

Fullerton’s caseload is higher than the 4,022 average among the county district courts and 12% higher than the average caseload in other fourth class counties.

The workload is 49% higher than the county average.

The AOPC asks counties to explain action they plan to take when a magisterial district has a workload difference of 15% higher or lower than the county average.

The county's explanation for reestablishment says only one municipality — Butler — makes up the magisterial district, and, because a voting district can't be split, the court's boundary can't be realigned to improve case equity.

The explanation also says District Court 50-3-05 has the highest number of criminal complaints, and exploring the possibility of creating a central court may help alleviate inequity in the future.

Fullerton says caseload ‘manageable’

“I have found my caseload to be manageable. I don’t see a need for a central court,” Fullerton said.

He said the office is busy, but his staff helps it run smoothly.

“I’ve worked here for six years. I found the districts as they are established seem pretty rational to me,” Fullerton said. “I’m not aware of any problems that need to be addressed by redistricting.”

Magisterial District Judge Sue Haggerty, who presides over district court 50-3-03 in Saxonburg, agrees with Fullerton.

She said creating a central court would be contradictory to the main reason the district court system was created — to have local courts available to residents.

“I’m not in favor of central court,” Haggerty said. “Why are you reinventing the wheel? I’m for the constituents, the people and victims. It’s worked fine. There’s not a need for it. I don’t see a major need to change anything. As far as I know, it’s running pretty smooth.”

Maintaining the current number of district courts is necessary because the population is growing in several areas of the county, she said.

“I don’t foresee a lot of changes,” said Haggerty. “I think it’s fairly evenly distributed. It’s always hard to judge in the next 10 years where your growth is going to be.”

No changes after 2012 review

The last review conducted in 2012 resulted in no changes to the number of district courts, Cihonski said.

The last change to the county's magisterial district courts was made in 2002 when District Court 50-3-04 in Cranberry Township and District Court 50-1-01 in Butler Township were created.

Butler County Common Pleas Court President Judge S. Michael Yeager participated in the latest review, and the court administration office also met with the district judges before finalizing the recommendation, Cihonski added.

Public comment is being accepted on the reestablishment proposal until Feb. 28. The reestablishment worksheets containing the workloads and caseloads of each district court, and a link for submitting comments is available at butlercountypa.gov/722/MDJ-Reestablishment.

Ensuring all residents have access to a local court is one of the major factors the Supreme Court considers when determining the number and boundaries of magisterial district courts, said Richard King, a magisterial district judge in Allegheny County, who is a member of the Pennsylvania Minor Judiciary Education Board, which provides legal education to magisterial district judges. He is also a past president of the Pennsylvania Special Courts Judges Association.

"Access to justice is a major factor the courts look at," King said.

Population is another a factor, he said.

The current review, which should be underway in all counties, looked at court numbers through 2018 to avoid the impact COVID-19 had on the courts, King added

These reviews have resulted in eliminating magisterial district courts in some counties in past years, he said.

"Over the years, we've been the only branch of government that has eliminated jobs," King said.

Magisterial District 50-3-04 in Cranberry Township, which is presided over by Judge Kevin Flaherty, who was elected last year, had the highest average caseload, 4,907, and an average workload of 32,813.

District 50-3-02 in Chicora, presided over by Judge Lewis Stoughton, had the lowest average caseload of 3,181 and an average workload of 28,138.

District 50-3-06 in Evans City, presided over by Judge Amy Marcinkiewicz, who also was elected last year, had the lowest average workload of 27,834 and an average caseload of 3,556.