The First Filing Unit is the initial contact for the litigants filing
a civil case in the Philadelphia Municipal Court. The Municipal Court
prides itself on being extremely accessible for every individual,
whether represented by counsel or not, and this ideal remains a
constant within this unit.
The unit will pre-interview the non-represented clientele, provide an
interviewer to officially interview the client and complete the proper
paperwork for the complaint. This service is unique to courts
nationwide and places responsibility upon the unit to ensure that the
information completed is correct per the court rules and applicable
laws.
The unit also handles all attorney filings (including Bulk filings)
which includes the responsibility to ensure that the filings are
completed correctly. Other filings handled by the unit include all
mail-in filings and all requests for assistance under the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
All filing costs, and fines imposed by the Judges in City filings, all
accepted through the cashiers who are under the direction of the First
Filing Unit supervisor. The cashier system has recently changed with
the court cashiers coming on line with the system utilized in City
Hall.
The First Filing Unit is also responsible for the stripping of all
transcripts received and distributes the proper copies to all of the
other civil units. This procedure is done on a daily basis.
Other functions that the office will handle are the Petitions for
Informa Pauperis and volunteering on a consistent basis to mediate
disputes from Small Claims and Housing Courtrooms since numerous
employees in the unit have been trained in Dispute Resolution Skills.
The Municipal Court has a jurisdictional limit for civil filings of
$10,000.00 and an unlimited jurisdictional amount for rent only in
Landlord and Tenant cases.
John Joyce - Supervisor Room 500 34 South 11th Street (215) 686-2900
The Civil Listings Unit of Municipal Court is responsible for the
scheduling of all cases heard in Civil Courtrooms of Municipal Court.
This unit prepares the schedules for filings by agencies such as
License and Inspections, Water Revenue Bureau, Philadelphia Gas Works,
Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, Public Health, and the City of
Philadelphia Law Department. Also, schedules are made for the filing
of the Philadelphia Housing Authority and State cases. These cases are
handled directly by this unit and therefore the Civil Listings Unit
acts as the intake unit for these agencies filing in the Civil
Division of the Court.
Each day this unit will supply to the First Filing intake unit a
specific number of slots available for each courtroom so as to control
the courtroom activity. It is their responsibility to ensure that each
courtroom has a list of cases each day that is manageable for the
presiding Judge.
It is essential that this office coordinate the scheduling of the
cases with each and every courtroom so as to control the number of
continued cases. Our system prides itself on the lack of any court
backlog and this office is an integral part of that continuing with
their management of the court caseload.
The Civil Listings Unit must also process all correspondences received
prior to the court date, assist litigants in the process of filing
affidavits of breach of agreement for non-represented litigants,
relisting their cases, assist attorneys in the bulk filing of cases,
notify all parties of approved continuances and communicate with all
of the Civil Units and Courtrooms to insure the proper management of
case scheduling is followed by every employee.
This unit is currently responsible for the scheduling of over 120,000
cases per year while maintaining their goal of no court backlog.
Maria DiMartino - Supervisor Room 510 34 S. 11Th Street (215) 686-7980
The Dispute Resolution Program has two (2) divisions. The program
mediates Housing, Small Claims and Private Criminal Complaints. The
program also Arbitrates Private Criminal Complaints. The program is
currently handling over 3,000 cases a year.
The mediations are conducted by volunteers, law students and staff
members while Arbitrations are conducted by attorneys appointed by the
court.
The voluntary agreements reached in mediation, and the orders entered
in Arbitration, are non-appealable and binding. The agreement rate is
approximately seventy-five (75) percent for Small Claims cases, eighty
(80) percent for Housing cases and Sixty (60) percent for criminal
mediations.
The Dispute Resolution Program currently provides extensive Dispute
Resolution Skills and Procedural training for third year law student
from Temple University, Widener University and various organizations.
Also, free training is provided for interested volunteers who give
their time to the litigants in the court in an attempt to reach
binding, voluntary agreements.
The program also conducts mediations for Private Criminal Complaints
which are scheduled prior to the scheduling of trial. The parties are
given the opportunity to rectify the problem at mediation and if they
are not successful they will be referred to court. Until now the
parties were only offered Arbitration (Where parties submit to be
bound by the Arbitrator's decision) by the Trial Commissioner at the
first listing. The confidence of the court continues to rise regarding
the program's ability to handle difficult cases.
Joseph McDermott - Supervisor Room 490 34 South 11th Street (215) 686-2971
The Data Processing Department serves as an across the board "Liaison"
to the Municipal Court Civil Division and a faction of the Municipal
Court Criminal sector.
The unit is made up of Legal Clerks, who input pertinent information
into an on-line computer system. The work received from the First
Filing Unit is the first function that sets the system in motion. As a
result of what is entered On-line other units are provided with
various computer generated services. The Civil Listings Unit and the
Private Criminal Complaint Unit are provided with the Trial Sheets
that allow the units to get the work ready for court. The First Filing
Unit receives a monthly breakdown of interviewer and attorney filed
statistics.
After the initial court hearing it is the Legal Clerks job to decipher
what the judge has written, analyze the judicial notes and interpret
the decisions and record them accurately onto the computer system. The
employees of this unit must have a thorough knowledge and training the
Municipal Court Laws and Rules of Civil Procedure. The clerks are in
communication with the Judges, Law Clerks, Attorneys, other officers
of the court and various city agencies, as well as the different units
within Municipal Court to ensure that all proceedings are properly
recorded.
As a result of what is entered into the system title companies &
credit agencies are able to retrieve information. The Prothonotary
uses our files to check for liens, monetary judgments, appeals,
satisfactions, writs of revival, vacates, petitions, updating of
addresses, remits, striking of judgments and bail orders ordered sued
out. The general public also has access to our information.
The Municipal Court Civil computer file is consistently updated by the
Data Processing Unit. It is a Management Information System (History
file) of what has taken place with a case from it's inception to the
final event. Quality Control and communication are key factors in
making this unit run efficiently. The unit also has added changing
attorney's addresses to their list of duties.
Upon completion of the initial court hearing, computer generated
services are provided to various units in Municipal Court as well as
various city and state agencies. Civil Listings receives their
continuance notices eliminating the need to type them , while the
Judgment and Petition Unit receive the Default Judgment letters.
Statistical information is obtained daily on continuance counts,
weekly on Room Control Reports, monthly on cases entered and disposed,
petitions entered, petitions disposed, relistments, subpoenas,
breakdown of dispositions, types of cases filed and various other
reports that are needed.
On of the goals of this Unit is to keep abreast of current technology
and new systems that meet the ever-changing demands of our
organization.
Paulette Scanlon - Supervisor Room 455 34 South 11th Street (215) 686-2915
Present in the Civil Division Courtroom of the Municipal Court are
Court Recorders who are responsible for monitoring the tape recording
equipment and log all transactions before a Municipal Court Judge. The
recording of any particular case can be made available to any party
involved in that case. The testimony can then be transcribed for a per
page fee. The fee is based on the actual number of pages transcribed.
The fee schedule for transcriptions is as follows:
1-2 weeks $3.00 per page
2-4 weeks $2.25 per page
4-6 weeks $1.50 per page
Shipping and handling charges including a $33.00 Federal Express
expedited delivery charge (if so desired) are not included in the per
page rate and will be added to the total cost.
The Court Recorders are present in each courtroom that is utilized by
a Municipal Court Judge and the testimony that is recorded is kept by
the office for a period of three (3) years from the date of the
hearing.
This office utilizes a system that categorizes the tapes in a way that
makes listening to them very easy and accessible. The tapes are
available to court personnel to hear specific testimony that will help
with clarification of any issue in question.
Maria DiMartino - Supervisor
Room 510
34 South 11th Street
(215) 686-7980
The Philadelphia Municipal Court is constantly revising their system
of handling civil filings to better serve the public and more
efficiently utilize the time of the judicial staff. With this in mind
the creation of the Civil Trial Commissioner was initiated.
The Civil Trial Commissioners have the authority to sit on the bench
to handle all default judgments, settlements, agreements, withdrawals
and agreed upon continuance requests.
The Trial Commissioners are not judges but they do have the authority
to handle all requests that do not require and judicial determination.
The court prides itself on the lack of any court backlog and the
functions of the Trial Commissioners help ensure that this will
continue.
A Trial Commissioner will help the parties in addressing any questions
that they have regarding the process that is to take place, as long as
those questions do not require a legal determination since this is
beyond their accepted scope of responsibilities.
The Trial Commissioners must be in command of the Civil Rules of
Procedure since their actions can have a serious detrimental effect
upon the litigants if their duties are not conducted correctly. The
commissioners complete the disposition form on the cases that they can
dispose of and those notations are relied upon by other offices when
the information is entered into the computer system.
In summary, the commissioner enable a Municipal Court Judge to
concentrate on all contested matters and enable the litigants to
utilize the court without unnecessary and time-consuming delays.
Manuel Bustamante, Esquire
Trial Commissioner
Room 430, 34 South 11th Street
215 686-2970
George Mathew, Esquire
Room 470, 34 South 11th Street,
215 686-7579
Catherine Dumoff
Room 455, 34 S. 11th Street,
215-686-2914
The Tipstaves, genereally referred to "Court Officers" by the public,
have many varied duties not commonly known by those utilizing the
system.
The Tipstaves are responsible for not only the inner workings of the
courtroom but also other ancillary duties essential to the operation
of the civil courtrooms.
The functions and duties the Tipstaves are responsible for in the
courtroom include the oath and/or affirmation of all witnesses, the
marking of all evidence, enforcement of all court rules for decorum,
marking of all trial sheets of case dispostions, keeping statistical
data on court case management, the handling of all security for the
judicial staff and the attachment of all documents sent to the court
for judicial review.
The Tipstaves must ensure that each and every trial list that is heard
in their room is delivered to the appropriate office intact and
accurate so that the information can be entered into the computer
system.
Sandra Stibbins
Deputy Chief of Courtroom Operations
Room 450
34 South 11th Street
(215) 686-2908
The Judgment and Petition Unit is a very integral part of Municipal
Court. The function of this unit is to assist the public, law firms,
title companies and other city or private agencies to exercise their
right to ask the court for relief, due process and any other requests
necessary to resolve a post trial action. The employees of this Unit
must have a thorough knowledge of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Individuals are not required to have an attorney and therefore may
lack the knowledge regarding their legal rights. It is not the
responsibility of the court to provide legal advice, however, it is
our responsibility to provide assistance with facts, information and
solutions so the public will feel the Court system works for them. As
representatives of the court, the employees of this Unit must be
professional and courteous and along with good communication skills
enlighten the public of the policies and procedures of the Court
System.
The employees of this Unit must also ve knowledgeable in understanding
not only the functions of other units within the Court System but also
other private and city agencies.
The Judgment and Petitions Unit currently handles all post-trial and
Prothonotary motions filed in the Civil division of the Court. This
Unit must advise, and assist all represented and non-represented
litigants through the filing of all post-trial petitions and motions.
These filings involve the enforcement of money judgments and judgments
for possession in housing matters.
This Unit has evolved into an office that handles a vast amount of
diversified petitions and motions. With the Court priding itself on
easy access for all litigants it is essential that this Unit continue
to make the process manageable and understandable for all concerned.
The action taken by this unit has enormous impact upon the parties
involved in the civil complaints. It is imperative that the unit
interpret the transcripts correctly to allow enforcement according to
the applicable rules and laws. For example, all filings of the Writ of
Possession and Alias Writ of Possession are done through this Unit and
these filings allow for forcible eviction to be carried out against a
tenant. It is the responsibility of the staff to ensure that at no
time is a tenant removed from a dwelling unless all procedures have
been followed fully and correctly. In conjunction with this function
and the enforcement of all money judgments, this unit now handles all
Post-trial prothonotary functions. Again, the unit reviews documents
to establish that a judgment is valid and rules and laws are followed
to ensure that a party's belongings or bank accounts are not attached
illegally.
Attorneys filing petitions are handled in this unit with new
variations being adopted at all times to suit the needs of the
parties. The substantial amount of petitions remain Petitions to Open.
These are petitions filed by represented parties who have a judgment
entered against them by default as a result of failing to appear at a
hearing after being properly served with a complaint. The staff
assists the attorneys in completing the forms when necessary and
inspect the completed forms for correctness. With the Court change in
monetary jurisdiction and filings the unit must adapt their usual
procedures to ensure that all post-trial motions can be filed and
properly heard.
Other filings include all writs of revival and the handling of all
paperwork for appeals to the Court of Common Pleas.
The Judgment and Petitions Unit is responsible for handing the
following matters:
Writ of Possession
Alias Writ of Possession
Discovery in aid of execution or interrogatories in aid of
execution
Answers to interrogatories
Praecipe to enter judgment against the garnishee, when answers are
not filed
Order to Satisfy judgment against the garnishee
Writ of Revival
Praecipe for a writ of revival
Terre-tenant
Appeals
Default Judgments
Bankruptcy
Petitions filed by Attorneys
Post Trail In Forma Pauperis Petitions
Certified and Exemplied copies
Time Stamp
Attest
Seal
Certification of Satisfactions
Maggie Meehan, Supervisor
Room 500
34 South 11th Street
215 686-7573
The Philadelphia Municipal Court has begun a program, in conjunction
with the Big Sister Program of Philadelphia, which allows for disabled
High School students to work within the court during the summer
months. The program is funded through the Private Industry Council
with a sub-contract with the Philadelphia Urban Coalition.
The court has had up to eighteen (18) students working in the court
system each summer. The students are given the opportunity to gain
invaluable work experience while enabling the court personnel to learn
about the needs and skills of the disabled. The court has learned that
these students should not be described as students with disabilities,
but instead as students with skills. The experience has been a
positive influence on the court and the court hopes to continue the
program for many years.
Joseph McDermott- Facilitator
Room 490
34 South 11th Street
(215) 686-2917
