Pennsylvania Code › Title 201 - RULES OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION › Chapter 6 - MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES › Rule 605 - Supervision of Magisterial District Courts by President Judges

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
In the interest of efficient administration of the judicial
				district, the president judge of the court of common pleas of a judicial
				district shall exercise general supervision and administrative authority over
				magisterial district courts within the judicial district. The administrative
				authority of the president judge over magisterial district courts within the
				judicial district includes, but is not limited to, and shall be governed by,
				the following:
(A)
Administration of District Courts
.
(1)
Records
-Personnel and
			 other records shall be maintained in such form as directed by the president
			 judge or required by general or local rule.
(2)
Staff in the Magisterial District
			 Courts
-
(a) The president judge, in
			 the interest of efficient administration of the judicial district:
(i) retains the final authority to hire,
			 supervise, and fire staff in the magisterial district courts in the judicial
			 district. In accordance with such authority, the president judge may establish
			 minimum qualifications, a classification system and job description for all
			 authorized staff, and general procedures regarding the hiring, firing,
			 supervision, and discipline of all authorized staff;
(ii) may transfer or reassign staff members
			 from one court to another. Ordinarily, such transfer or reassignment should
			 occur only after consultation with the magisterial district judges involved.
			 Absent extraordinary circumstances, the president judge may transfer or
			 reassign personal staff only with the consent of the magisterial district
			 judge;
(iii) may assign, as
			 appropriate, temporary or floater staff;
(iv) may establish performance evaluations
			 and procedures for staff, including personal staff, in the magisterial district
			 courts in the judicial district which shall be utilized by the magisterial
			 district judges; and
(v) may
			 prescribe training for staff in the magisterial district courts in the judicial
			 district.
(b) The
			 magisterial district judge, subject to the provisions set forth above and in
			 the interest of the efficient administration of the judicial district:
(i) may select one authorized staff member as
			 personal staff and assign the duties of the personal staff;
(ii) shall have general day-to-day
			 supervisory authority, in coordination with county court administration and the
			 court's human resources designee, over the staff in his or her court, and
			 ordinarily shall participate in the selection, hiring, disciplining and firing
			 of court staff;
(iii) shall be
			 responsible for the daily operation of his or her court in accordance with the
			 Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of Magisterial District Judges and any
			 state or local rules or administrative orders; and
(iv) shall be responsible for the assignment
			 of work in accordance with job descriptions among authorized staff in his or
			 her court.
(3)
Office Hours
-The president judge may designate the hours that
			 the magisterial district courts shall be open for official business in the
			 judicial district. The approved office hours shall be posted in a conspicuous
			 place on the premises in which the office is located and posted on the judicial
			 district's website.
(4)
Procedural Audits
-The president judge may direct that
			 procedural audits of a magisterial district court be conducted to assure
			 compliance with general and local rules, administrative policies and
			 procedures, and the clerical procedures adopted by the Administrative Office
			 for management of cases in the Magisterial District Judge System. Such
			 procedural audits shall be separate from the fiscal audits conducted by the
			 county controller or state Auditor General, which shall be limited in scope to
			 the accounts of the magisterial district judge. Such procedural audits may be
			 conducted by the district court administrator, an outside independent auditor,
			 or such other person as the president judge may designate.
(5)
Temporary Assignments
:
Transfer of Cases
-In consultation with the affected
			 magisterial district judge(s), the president judge may order temporary
			 assignments of magisterial district judges or reassignment of cases or certain
			 classes of cases to other magisterial districts within the judicial district or
			 central courts within the judicial district.