Two district courts may close

The state Supreme Court will decide if courts in Perkasie and Lower Southampton will remain open.

A 12 percent drop in the number of cases filed in Bucks County district courts in the past five years, along with the expectation that the 2020 census counts would lead to the state reducing the number of district courts in the county has led the county to ask that the district courts in Perkasie and Lower Southampton be closed, Stephen Heckman, Bucks County’s court administrator, said.

“We’re being proactive in dealing with the circumstances as we find them now,” Heckman said.

If approved, the move would likely take place in late December or early January, he said.

The coverage areas of the two courts would be consolidated into neighboring ones, he said.

“They’d be split up,” Heckman said. “We don’t want to overload any one court.”

The state Supreme Court, which will make the decision on the closing of the courts, will also rule on the realignment, which will be based on a recommendation from the county, he said.

“We’re working right now on how to divide it up,” Heckman said.

The Perkasie district court also serves East Rockhill, Sellersville, West Rockhill and the Bucks County portion Telford, according to county information.

Bucks County President Judge Jeffrey Finley recently filed a request with the state Supreme Court for the two district courts to be eliminated, Heckman said.

Both district courts had been slated to have new judges elected this year and take office the beginning of next year. In Perkasie, District Judge Charles Baum announced earlier this year that he would retire when his current term expires at the end of the year. In Lower Southampton, former District Judge John Waltman has been indicted on money laundering charges. Senior Judge Philip Daly is currently handling the Lower Southampton court.

Candidates who had filed to be in this year’s elections for the two district judge positions have been notified about the request to eliminate those courts, Heckman said.

He said he hopes the Supreme Court will make its decision before the May 16 primary elections, but doesn’t expect it will come in time for the candidates’ names to be removed from the primary ballot, which has to be finalized in early April.

“As soon as we hear, we will inform all the necessary parties and the public” about the Supreme Court’s decision, Heckman said.

Closing the two district courts will save money, he said. The county owns the building in which the Perkasie district court is located at 705 W. Market St. and could use it for other county offices or sell it, he said. The county leases the Lower Southampton office, he said.

The judge’s salaries are paid by the state, but the court’s office staff are county employees, he said.

The county will try to find other county jobs for those employees, he said.

“Obviously, if there’s openings in other courts, that would be the first preference,” Heckman said. If that’s not possible, the employees could move to other county positions if there are openings, he said.

There are currently 20 district courts in Bucks County, according to county information.

District courts are responsible for adjudicating traffic and non-traffic citations, criminal arraignments and preliminary hearings and handling civil and landlord/tenant complaints involving claims of up to $12,000, according to information on the Bucks County website.