MEETING MINUTES
Monday, February 5, 2018
By C. Edward S. Mitchell, Chairman
Attendance
Present were: Judge Gray, Judge Lovecchio, Judge McCoy, Jennifer Ayers, William Carlucci, Robert Elion, Michele Frey, Skip Greevy, Jessica L. Harlow, Jennifer Heverly, Bradley C. Hillman, C. Edward S. Mitchell, Joseph Rider, Clifford Rieders, Adrianne Stahl, Thomas Waffenschmidt, J. Michael Wiley, David Wilk, Jeffrey Yatess
Old Business
Judicial Assignments
Civil trials will be conducted by Judge Gray, Judge Linhardt and Judge Lovecchio. Judge Gray will retire June 30, 2018 but will presumably be a Senior Judge. Senior Judges Ken Brown, Dudley Anderson, Richard Gray and Michael Williamson may also conduct civil trials.
Criminal trials will continue to be handled by Judge Butts and Judge Lovecchio.
Family court matters will be handled by Judge McCoy.
Orphan’s court matters will be handled by Judge Butts and Judge Linhardt.
Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania
By administrative order dated December 1, 2017, our court has adopted the “Confidential Document Form” option for court filings after January 6, 2018.
Prothonotary Filing Fees
Bill Carlucci, Solicitor to the Prothonotary, commented on the procedure necessary to change filing fees and the limitations on changes. There have been no efforts to date to eliminate discontinuance fees by combining them with filing fees.
Law Library
The law library has been moved to the basement of the courthouse in the former arbitration room. The library is not staffed during all courthouse hours. When not staffed, access can be obtained through the Court Administrator’s office.
Jury Questionnaires
There was a lengthy conversation about the requirements of both the criminal rules and the rules of civil procedure for information required to be available to attorneys selecting juries. The only questionnaire presently being utilized with jury selections in Lycoming County is the one required by Pa Rule of Criminal Procedure 632. A sub-committee will submit a draft of a questionnaire to be requested for use in civil cases.
There was also a discussion about how jurors are selected for individual case panels. There is concern about the fact that a random method of selection is not being utilized.
New Business
Courthouse Dog
Beginning February 20, 2018, Lycoming County will have a courthouse dog which will be used in dependency, delinquency and other family court matters involving children.
Memorials
There will be special sessions of court in memory of the following three recently deceased members of the bar:
- Ralph Thorne - March 12, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.
- Charles Caffrey - April 26, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.
- Ronald Travis - May 11, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.
Payment of Administration Expenses from Residuary Estate Where Portions of the Residuary Estate are Devised or Bequeathed to Charities
The Attorney General’s office is taking the position that bequests to charities contained in residuary clauses should not be reduced by administration expenses directed to be paid from the residuary estate.
Deduction of Alimony
Beginning after 2018, alimony payments will no longer be deductible for federal income tax purposes.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 7, 2018 at noon in the Law Association Executive Offices.
Respectfully submitted,
C. Edward S. Mitchell
Chairman