Northampton County Magisterial District Courts
3rd Judicial District

Magistrates Seated left to right: Diane S. Repyneck , Joan Marinkovits, Nancy Matos Gonzalez, Sandra J. Zemgulis, Gay L.Elwell Standing left to right: Elmo Frey, James F. Stocklas, Todd M. Strohe, Joseph Barner, Ralph W. Litzenberger, Esq., Michael J. Koury, Esq.

The Magisterial District Judges are part of a unified judicial system governed by the rules and regulations promulgated by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. President Judge Robert A. Freedberg exercises general supervision and administrative control over the District Judges. Debra C. French, Deputy Court Administrator, oversees the operations of the District Courts.

In 2007, District Court 03-2-08 remained vacant. Senior Magisterial District Judge Frey, Jr. and Senior Magisterial District Judge Romig continued to serve in that district. On July 20, 2007, Patricia A. Romig-Passaro was sworn-in as a Magisterial District Judge in District Court 03-2-11 after receiving the Governor’s appointment to fill the vacant office.

There are fifteen magisterial districts located throughout Northampton County. A District Judge who has been elected to a six-year term serves each district. District Judges are available 24 hours a day to serve the public with all District Judges serving night and weekend duty on a rotating basis.

District Judges have jurisdiction over minor criminal offenses, traffic offenses, landlord/tenant matters and other civil actions where the amount claimed does not exceed $8000.00. In misdemeanor and felony cases, District Judges have jurisdiction to issue arrest and search warrants, hold preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings and set bail. They also have authority to perform marriages, handle protection from abuse matters and issue subpoenas. They also may impose summary punishments for criminal contempt.

In July 2007, police departments began to use Central Booking Centers to process criminal defendants during night and weekend hours. One center is located within the Northampton County Prison and another is located at the Bethlehem Police Department. A defendant is brought to a CBC and is fingerprinted, photographed and information is electronically transmitted to AFIS. Within 10 minutes, the defendant’s criminal history is received and available to the police officer and Magisterial District Judge. This information assists the MDJ in determining bail for the defendant. A video arraignment is conducted between the defendant and police officer located at a CBC and a Magisterial District Judge located in his home. A representative of NCP has been designated by local court order to accept bail. Video technology is also used for requests for arrest warrants and search warrants during non-business hours. The new system has greatly reduced the security concerns of the MDJs as they no longer need to report to the district court in the middle of the night to conduct preliminary arraignments.

District Court Collections
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has implemented a statewide computer system for the District Courts. This automation enables improved judicial accountability, uniform processing of cases and potentially, increased collections of fines and costs. The District Judges are responsible for all monies that flow through their offices. They are required to disburse on a regular basis, the appropriate funds to the state, county and local municipalities. In 2007, $1,605,574 was sent to Northampton County, $198,996 more than in 2006. In addition, the District Courts collect and disperse constable costs, restitution, civil costs and bail money, etc. With these added disbursements, the amount of money handled by the District Courts in 2007 totaled $8,499,022.

In an effort to generate more revenue for the county, a miscellaneous issuance fee was instituted pursuant to 42 PA. C.S.A., section 1725.1, beginning July 1, 2003. For 2007, the fee of $14.50 was assessed for each summary warrant that was issued. In 2007, the District Courts collected $246,199 in county money as a result of this fee.

District Court Case Filings
73,049 cases were filed in the District Courts of Northampton County in 2007. There were:

51,508 traffic cases

10,606 summary cases

5,441 civil cases

5,194 criminal cases

This represents an increase of 3,304 case filings in 2007 as compared to 2006. There have been increases in all four types of cases. Of the 10,606 summary cases that were filed in the District Courts, only 321 of these cases were appealed to the Court of Common Pleas. Of the 5,441 civil cases filed in the District Courts, 181 cases were appealed. This represents a summary appeal rate of 3% and a civil appeal rate of 3%.

District Court Dispositions
The District Judges disposed of 71,785 cases in 2007.  Of these cases:

50,487 dispositions were for traffic cases

10,325 dispositions were forsummary cases

5,700 dispositions were forcivil cases

5,273 dispositions were forcriminal cases

As the above statistics indicate, the District Judges are moving the cases expeditiously through their courts.

General Court Information