Trial Division


The Trial Division is one of three divisions of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. The Trial Division of the Court of Common Pleas has general jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases, excluding Family Division or Orphans' Court matters.

The Court of Common Pleas - Trial Division is composed of seventy commissioned judges. The judges in commission are supplemented by the services of senior judges. The Division is divided into two sections - Civil and Criminal. Forty-one commissioned judges are assigned to the criminal programs and twenty-nine are assigned to civil programs. There are approximately one-thousand employees in the many separate departments throughout the Trial Division.

Office of the Administrative Judge

The Trial Division is led by an Administrative Judge, who is appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and serves at the pleasure of the Supreme Court. On January 27, 2016, Judge Jacqueline F. Allen was appointed Administrative Judge. As Administrative Judge, she is the approving authority for all administrative matters associated with the Trial Division.

The duties of the Administrative Judge of the Trial Division include but are not limited to:

  • Assignment of judges within the Trial Division, along with designation and use of all rooms assigned to the Division for judicial use, excepting chambers for each judge;
  • Oversight of case management practices in both the civil and criminal sections;
  • Personnel administration within the Trial Division;
  • Preparation and analysis of periodic reports of facts and statistics concerning the disposition of cases;
  • Coordination of the use of technology to expedite the timely disposition of cases;
  • Operation of the First Judicial District's Jury Commission;
  • Administrative oversight of fiscal matters that relate to the Trial Division;
  • Administrative oversight of the Adult Probation and Parole Department.

Civil Section

The Supervising Judge of the Civil Section is the Honorable Idee C. Fox. Civil has jurisdiction over actions at law and equity along with appeals from Municipal Court and certain administrative agencies and boards. The Trial Division Civil has jurisdiction over civil claims involving amounts in excess of $10,000. The variety of civil actions that may be brought in the Trial Division Civil include Negligence, Contract and Equity Action.

Criminal Section

The Supervising Judge of the Criminal Section is the Honorable Leon W. Tucker. Criminal has jurisdiction over all felony cases as well as appeals from Municipal Court for a trial de novo, including a right to a trial by jury. Among the types of cases that fall within the assignments of the Trial Division Criminal are homicide cases, capital PCRA cases and felony cases. The Probation Department and Pretrial Services are included in the Criminal Section of the Division.

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If you or someone you know requires the use of a language interpreter, free of charge, please contact Elizabeth McCarrick, Interpreter Coordinator at 215-683-8000, or email interpreters@courts.phila.gov and we will be happy to assist you.

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All Court Offices are open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday thru Friday unless stated otherwise.

Municipal Court - Criminal Division
Preliminary Arraignment Courtroom is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Municipal Court - Traffic Division
Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM

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The following select documents provide quick access to information on cases of public interest in Philadelphia County.

Updates to these cases are made on a regular basis. For more information about any one of these cases, please contact the Philadelphia Courts Communications staff.

Court News

Wednesday, April 25, 2018
First Judicial District
NOTICE: View the EMERGENCY JUDGE ASSIGNMENT for the Week of April 27, 2018 through May 4, 2018 Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

Friday, April 20, 2018
First Judicial District
CLE Course: 2018 Bi-Annual Civil Mental Health CLE Registration and Agenda. Wednesday, April 25, 2018 Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

Friday, April 20, 2018
First Judicial District
View the Judicial Schedules for the week of April 22, 2018. Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

Tuesday, April 17, 2018
First Judicial District
NOTICE: View the EMERGENCY JUDGE ASSIGNMENT for the Week of April 20, 2018 through April 27, 2018 Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

Friday, April 13, 2018
First Judicial District
View the Judicial Schedules for the week of April 15, 2018. Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

Wednesday, April 11, 2018
First Judicial District
NOTICE: View the EMERGENCY JUDGE ASSIGNMENT for the Week of April 13, 2018 through April 20, 2018 Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Court of Common Pleas, Trial Division - Civil
RE: Civil Trial Division Motion/Petition Assignment Matrix Effective April 2, 2018 Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

Friday, April 06, 2018
First Judicial District
View the Judicial Schedules for the week of April 8, 2018. Documents are in Adobe PDF Format

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If your organization is seeking to request the use of courthouse facilities, please email the following to crtrmrsrv@courts.phila.gov

Please provide at least 10 business days before the event to process, reserve and hold the date(s) the individual / group is interested in reserving

1. Name and address of your organization
2. Contact person with contact information
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5. Purpose (mock trials competition, meeting, etc)
6. Number and type of rooms (courtroom, conference room, etc)
7. Number of people attending
8. Is your organization an 501(C)(3) non-profit

Please note: Courtrooms are only available for reservations after hours and on weekends. There is a fee of $150 per room for any organization that is not a 501(C) (3) non-profit.

Departments of the First Judicial District
Elder Justice & Civil Resource Center

The Elder Justice & Civil Resource Center ("The Center") is a court-based resource center for seniors, located at Philadelphia City Hall, to provide services for persons age 60 and over involved in legal proceedings or in need of legal services or resources.

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Philadelphia, PA 19107

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Fax: 215 683-6952
Email: hr@courts.phila.gov

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Welcome to the Judicial Community Outreach-Judicial Ambassador Program. The First Judicial District has initiated a program where Judicial Ambassadors are available for speaking engagements. Please carefully review the information and protocols concerning the program before making a request. While we will not be able to honor all requests, we look forward to your submission for a speaker. All requests will be carefully considered.

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ADA Policy, Forms and Coordinators

The First Judicial District of Pennsylvania complies with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which requires that all court services and facilities be as reasonably accessible to persons with disabilities as those without disabilities.

If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodations to file a claim, participate in a court proceeding, or use any service provided by The First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, complete the Request for Reasonable Accommodation Form and return it to the ADA Coordinator(s) for the applicable Court, Division or Department. A current copy of the ADA Coordinator list is available at https://courts.phila.gov/ada.asp. Please call 215-683-6950 if you cannot determine the name of your ADA Coordinator.

Requests for reasonable accommodation must be made at least three business days in advance of the court activity. Because some accommodations require additional time, as much notice as possible is requested. On occasion, the court activity may be postponed until an accommodation is provided.

If you believe that there has been a violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the provision of services, programs, or activities by the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, you may file a Grievance utilizing the Grievance Form below.

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