Pennsylvania court officials are set to take a close look at exactly how many trial judges are needed across the state. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts has asked the National Center for State Courts to assess the workload of all trial judges in the state. The in-depth study is expected to result in a report outlining the needs of the judiciary, which will then be brought to the state General Assembly for further action.
“We want to evaluate the time that it takes on average [for the judges to handle cases], and see if we can create a matrix to assess the need for more or fewer common pleas judges,” state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille said. “It’ll be answering [the legislature's] questions to us about the number of common pleas court judgeships in the state, and it’s up to the legislature if they want to eliminate or add.”
