The Structure of court system of Pennsylvania is of the form of a pyramid. The State's judicial system has the Supreme Court at its apex. Possessed with 7 justices, it has the administrative authority over the entire Pennsylvania court system. Since its inception in 1722 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, the Commonwealth's highest court has undergone several major changes that have helped shape its composition today. The most far-reaching of these changes was the 1980 expansion of the Court's authority that allowed it to not only better administer the entire judicial system, but to devote greater attention to cases holding significant consequence for the Commonwealth and its citizens. Its jurisdiction covers four main areas: original, appellate, exclusive and extraordinary. Original jurisdictions include cases involving detention of a party, prohibition of courts of inferior jurisdiction and lawsuits challenging the right of an individual to hold public office. The Appellate are those which involve appeals of cases originating in Commonwealth Court and appeals of certain final orders issued by either the Common pleas courts or specific Constitutional and judicial agencies.
The Supreme Court hears exclusive jurisdictions regarding Common Pleas courts involving the death of a penalty. With extraordinary jurisdiction, the Pennsylvania court system has the authority for giving out jurisdiction over pending cases in lower courts. Moving down lies the intermediate appellate courts: the Superior Court, a general court of appeals with 15 judges, and the Commonwealth Court, a special court with nine judges which hears government-related matters. Commonwealth Court has its share of original and appellate jurisdiction. Cases involving civil actions brought by Commonwealth Government or matters under Election codes are covered under Original Jurisdiction whereas, appeals relating to decisions made by state administrative agencies and Courts of Common Pleas are supervised under appellate jurisdiction.
The Superior Court has a limited Original Jurisdiction power and even enjoys lesser privileges regarding appellate jurisdictions. One step down the pyramid are the Common Pleas courts in 60 judicial districts around the state where trials are held in civil and criminal cases and disputes involving family and estate matters are litigated. They have original jurisdiction over all cases not exclusively assigned to another court and appellate jurisdiction over judgments from the minor courts. They also hear appeals from certain state and most local government agencies. Finally at the base of Pennsylvania Court system are the magisterial district judges and the Philadelphia Municipal and Traffic courts where cases involving small claims, minor crimes and traffic offenses are heard.
Pennsylvania Court Records Online
In today's world, the World Wide Web comes very handy in providing minute details regarding any required information. One needs to keep a check on regular updates that are being made available in websites. Court records of Pennsylvania are just a click away in the concerned websites available in the net. Providing information regarding the trials and criminal offences charged regarding individuals or disputes over land are readily available free of cost ,but due to few privacy reasons of the administration, some information have been provided in exchange of a registration fee. Again every citizen is permitted access to examine any court records of Pennsylvania except those which contain information where the possession of such information can reasonably be expected to put the life of another person in danger or harm's way or endanger the public heath. But otherwise, the provided data are sufficient to maintain the clarity in a society.
