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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/19/2024 04:16 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=15709
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: December 9, 2014 02:06 PM
From: Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf
To: All Senate members
Subject: Amending constitution with "magisterial district judge"
 
I am reintroducing Senate Bill 169 of last session, proposing an amendment to Pennsylvania's constitution to make editorial changes that replace "justice of the peace" with "magisterial district judge." All references in the constitution to "justice of the peace" will be changed to "magisterial district judge."

These editorial changes update the constitution by removing the antiquated use of "justice of the peace," a job title no longer used in Pennsylvania. For many years the title “district justice” was used instead of “justice of the peace.” However, Act 207 of 2004 changed all statutory references from “district justice” to “magisterial district judge.”

The Judicial Code (42 Pa.C.S. §102) equates a magisterial district judge with the Pennsylvania constitution's justice of the peace. The Judicial Code definition of "magisterial district judge" is a “justice of the peace who holds office under section 7(a) of Article V of the Constitution of Pennsylvania and Subchapter B of Chapter 15 (relating to magisterial district judges)." The proposed constitutional amendment makes the language of the State constitution consistent with codified law.

As a proposed constitutional amendment, this legislation must pass each house of the General Assembly in two separate legislative sessions and then be presented to the voters for adoption. Despite amending several sections of the constitution, the proposed changes are integrated and shall constitute one ballot question.

Magisterial district judges preside over magisterial district courts in all of the counties but Philadelphia. They conduct non-jury trials concerning small claims, landlord-tenant disputes, traffic cases and minor criminal matters.

There are 544 magisterial district judges. Magisterial district judges are not required to be lawyers but, if they are not, they must complete a course and pass a qualifying examination. They must also complete continuing education requirements.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the Special Court Judges' Association of Pennsylvania agreed on this name change.

Introduced as SB522