MEETING MINUTES

Monday, February 4, 2013

Attendance

Present were: Judge Butts, Judge Gray, Judge Lovecchio, Judge McCoy, Brian Bluth, Richard Callahan, Robert Elion, Skip Greevy, John Person, Cliff Rieders, Kevin Way, Michael Wiley, Jeff Yates, and Ed Mitchell.

Old Business

No Old Business was discussed.

New Business

Plea Agreements

The criminal court judges are considering changes in their acceptances of guilty pleas where the district attorney office has required the defendant to waive the possibility of sentencing to boot camp. 

Scheduling of Criminal Trials

Because of the large number of criminal cases which are resolving without trial at the last minute, the court will begin to schedule back up trials in criminal cases.

Emergency Custody Hearings

Because of difficulty scheduling emergency custody hearings within the five (5) days presently required by the local rules, the court has submitted to the rules committee an amendment of the local rules to lengthen the permissible time for scheduling emergency custody hearings to ten (10) days.

Elimination of Jury Commissioners

The County Commissioners have decided to eliminate the position of Jury Commissioner in Lycoming County at the end of 2013. Beginning in 2014, the jobs formerly done by Jury Commissioners will be performed by the Court Administrator’s office.

Access to Courthouse

Judge Butts, as President Judge, is in charge of security for the courthouse. To reduce the congestion at the entrance to the courthouse, a system permitting courthouse employees to enter through a separate entrance is being implemented.

Communication with Jurors

The importance of keeping juries informed about delays in jury selection and the reasons for them was discussed. Our judges do communicate with juries during jury selection to keep them informed of any scheduling delays. Our judges also are communicating with jurors at the end of the case either orally or by questionnaire to allow jurors to express any problems that they have experienced.

Delays in Court Action

The judges suggest that attorneys contact them about situations where there appear to be a delay in receipt of responsive orders such as scheduling orders or orders in uncontested matters and to report any problems with the Register and Recorder’s office or the Prothonotary’s office.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be May 6, 2013 at noon at the Ross Club.

Respectfully submitted,

C. Edward S. Mitchell, Chairman