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An Overview of Pennsylvania's Courts
The Pennsylvania Judiciary
Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System forms a hierarchal structure that can be illustrated in the form of a pyramid, as presented above.
At the bottom of the pyramid are the magisterial district judges (formerly called district justices and justices of the peace) who preside mainly over minor criminal offenses and small civil claims. Philadelphia also has a separate traffic court which hears cases involving motor vehicle violations within the city.
Above the district judges are the Courts of Common Pleas, in which most criminal and civil cases originate. They also serve as appellate courts to the district judges and for local agency decisions.
Next are the two intermediate-level appellate courts, the Superior Court and Commonwealth Court. If either the Defedant or the Commonwealth fees that the Courts of Common pleas judge made an error in his rulings they can appeal to these courts.
At the top of the pyramid is the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which supervises Pennsylvania's entire judicial system. It is also the final appellate court for both the Superior Court and the Commonwealth Court. It also hears appeals directly from the Courts of Common Pleas in certain cases, including murder convictions in which the death penalty has been imposed, criminal contempt, and any case in which the Court of Common Pleas ruled that a state law was unconstitutional.
The Pennsylvania Judicial System Links
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
