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On January 8, 1952, Act No. 494 was signed by the
then governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This act designated "the
several judicial districts of the Commonwealth..." and further provided for the
election and commissioning of judges for the various districts. The act
identified a total of 59 judicial districts in the Commonwealth, of which Elk
and Cameron Counties were designated as the 59th Judicial District, the last one so
identified by number until the 60th was recently formed.
Prior to
that time, Elk, Cameron, and Clinton counties altogether comprised
the 25th Judicial District. In effect therefore, a circuit judge
traveled to and from the three counties and sat with associate
judges, residents of each of the three counties, on the various
matters of litigation.
Because of the resultant impracticality and ever increasing business
before the Court, it became necessary to create the new 59th
Judicial District, although associate judges were used continuously
in Elk and Cameron Counties until the early part of the 1970s, at
which time the elected office of associate judge was terminated
throughout the Commonwealth.
The judge's responsibilities in the 59th Judicial District involve
the disposition of all matters in litigation in whatever area of the
law or legal issues that are involved, including criminal cases of
every nature, civil cases, family law matters including support,
custody and visitation rights, divorce and equitable distribution,
all orphans' court matters including adoptions, termination of
parental rights proceedings, guardianship proceedings, juvenile
delinquency and dependency proceedings, appeals from magisterial
district judge convictions and civil judgments, appeals from motor vehicle
driver's license suspensions, zoning board rulings, and many other
miscellaneous matters. Additionally, the president judge has
responsibility over the Domestic Relations Sections, the Probation
Offices, and the Magisterial District Judges for both Elk and Cameron
Counties.
The duties of the president judge, in addition to all of the above
mentioned items, include administrative responsibilities and
supervisory duties to assure case management and flow of cases,
gathering and disseminating information to various sources
throughout the Commonwealth, including the Administrative Office of
Pennsylvania Courts, the Pennsylvania Commission of Sentencing, the
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Pennsylvania
Board of Probation and Parole, and Pennsylvania Department of Public
Welfare.
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