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MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGE

Understanding The Role

Magisterial District Court is the first level of judicial authority in Pennsylvania and is the court where most people experience the judicial system for the first time. Magisterial District Judges handle all traffic cases, minor criminal cases, and civil cases.

Montgomery County maintains thirty district courts strategically located throughout the county. An elected Magisterial District Judge presides over each of the individual district courts. The district courts serve as the initial tier of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System Our District Courts maintain jurisdiction over criminal preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings; summary criminal offenses; traffic offenses; municipal code violations; landlord / tenant suits; and civil claims where damages do not exceed $12,000.

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Every community within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a Magisterial District Court within close proximity to its residents.  This court, known locally as the District Court, the Community Court, or the People’s Court, is where community residents go to resolve disputes, seek financial restitution, or to defend against actions filed against them.  Community residents have the option to represent themselves in any hearing before the court at this level or to hire an attorney to represent them.  Most people, throughout the course of their lives, will only ever have contact with a Magisterial District Court. 

The minor judiciary plays a major role within the criminal justice system.  Most criminal cases, including cases of homicide, are initiated in Magisterial District Courts and proceed in these courts through to the Preliminary Hearing.  At the Preliminary Hearing, the Magisterial District Judge (MDJ) determines if sufficient evidence has been presented to send the criminal case to the court of common pleas for trial.   

MDJs are elected in a magisterial district made up of one or more communities or municipalities. They must reside in the magisterial district. It is their connection to their communities, their reputation for impartiality and fairness, and their understanding of the culture and unique characteristics of their respective communities that makes them the best qualified to arbitrate the issues facing the community residents in their jurisdiction in accordance with the law.  

Because MDJs play a very important role within their communities, it is not uncommon to find them speaking to school students, volunteering in their communities, attending local sporting events, or even officiating such events.  MDJ’s are elected to serve their district for a six-year term. There are non-attorneys and attorneys who serve as MDJs. Non-attorneys must undergo an extensive legal training course and pass a certification test in order to be certified as a Magisterial District Judge. All MDJs must attend an annual 32 hours of continuing legal education.  The number of Magisterial District Judges and the district boundaries in each county are determined by a Re-establishment process every ten years based on the Census.  The magisterial districts are not only based on population, but also workload and caseload are analyzed by each county which files a plan to be approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.