Pennsylvania court officials are now worried that unless some of its IT budget is restored after years of diversion of funds, they will be forced to shut down the statewide docketing system, creating filing difficulties across the state and impacting criminal justice.

According to letters obtained by The Legal, repeated budget diversions over the past few years, which were exacerbated last year by a $30 million reallocation from the court’s budget to shore up the state’s COVID-affected 2020-21 budget, now mean that the court will be forced to begin winding down the Common Pleas Computer Management System starting in July if current funding levels remain in place.