The Court Administrator is the highest non-judicial leadership
position in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania (FJD). The
position was created in 1996, when the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,
in reorganizing the FJD established the Administrative Governing Board
(AGB). The Office of the Court Administrator was instituted to
complement the Board and carry out their directives, to propose
solutions to problems and innovative ideas for improvements, and to
oversee the day-to-day management of the District. In July 2006, David
C. Lawrence was appointed FJD Court Administrator.
There are three groups of individuals reporting directly to the Court
Administrator: Deputy Court Administrators; Directors; and Senior
Staff Advisors. The Office provides centralized management for major
service centers that affect the work of the courts throughout the
District, and coordinates the ministerial activities of Deputy Court
Administrators located in specific courts and divisions of the FJD.
The Chief Deputy Court Administrator position is also briefly
described in the text below.
Deputy Court Administrators
There are 12 DCA positions. Four are concerned with cross-court
services: 1) Human Resources; 2) Financial Services; 3) Court Reporter
and Interpreter Services; and 4) Legal Services. Eight DCA positions
have responsibilities focused on the specific divisions of the courts
in which they are located, and these are listed below (Two DCAs are
assigned to the Juvenile Branch):
While the DCAs that are spread throughout the courts report to the
Court Administrator, they must also work very closely and respond to
the direction of their respective President and Administrative Judges.
This dual organizational scheme guarantees individual courts and
divisions the benefits of the services of a Deputy Court Administrator
and at the same time ensures that their operations are coordinated as
key components of the centralized FJD management structure.
Directors
In addition to Deputy Court Administrators, the Court Administrator
also employs Directors to oversee operational support services. These
include: 1) Data Processing and Management Information Services (MIS)
concerned with technology, including the FJD Internet presence; 2)
Administrative Services, including Buildings and Facilities; and 3)
the Procurement Department with contractual services expertise.
Senior Staff Advisors
Management analysis and other special services also originate in the
Court Administrator's Office, including the production of the FJD
newsletter, The
Courterly, along with annual and
biennial reports. These publications, training presentations,
charts, graphs, and statistical analyses are the products of two
Senior Staff Advisors who have extensive experience and a
comprehensive knowledge base with respect to most of the FJD systems.
Senior Staff Advisors are also used for ad-hoc assignments as project
managers, and as such, help to bring technological responses to
judicial administration in areas including caseflow and records
management, notes of testimony archival, and automated filing
applications.
Chief Deputy Court Administrator
The position of Chief Deputy Court Administrator rounds out the
complement of managers reporting directly to the Court Administrator.
The Chief Deputy Court Administrator is responsible for carrying out
high level initiatives as identified by the Court Administrator, and
these include caseflow management, technology acquisition and
implementation, facility design and management, system restructuring,
labor relations, and records management. The Court Administrator, the
Chief Deputy Court Administrator, and Deputy Court Administrator
positions are included in the Commonwealth Unified Judicial System
structure.
Cross-Court Services
A wide array of services is managed by the Office of the Court
Administrator and these are summarized below:
The FJD Human
Resources Office serves the leaders and employees of the
Courts through the management of positions, policy improvement,
testing, training, and employee compensation and benefits. Data
Processing manages and maintains the court mainframe and PC
information systems, including a Wide Area Network (WAN) connecting
about 3,000 PCs. Court Reporting and
Interpreter Services are provided throughout the District
except in Traffic Court. The office of Administrative Services is
responsible for the requisition of materials and coordination of
maintenance and other services, largely through the Building and
Facilities Department charged with upkeep, maintenance, and
renovations of various Court-occupied structures. The Financial
Services Office provides the Court Administrator and other leaders
with valuable information needed to support sound management
decisions, offers links with other branches of government and funding
sources, and responds to the directives of the Administrator. The
Senior Staff Advisors conduct studies of large systems and programs,
identify problems, and support the Court Administrator and Deputy
Court Administrators by implementing projects and solutions to ensure
the timely and efficient provision of Court services to the public.
The Deputy Court Administrator for Legal Services responds to
litigation and all legal matters relevant to the administration of the
business of the court.
