Credit: Submitted
A former Bristol Township cop will be moving behind the bench.
Terry Hughes, who retired from the Bristol Township Police Department’s command staff in 2019, won the seat that covers a third of Bristol Township and all of Tullytown Borough on Tuesday. He ran as both a Democrat and Republican after beating a challenger in the spring primary.
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“I totally understand how the district court system works. I would rule with common sense and compassion and be fair with people. You have to be fair with people,” Hughes said in a spring interview. “I hope to bring professional and life experience to the bench.”
The seat for Magisterial District Court 07-1-04 on New Falls Road has been vacant after District Judge Robert Wagner resigned and retired after 33 years in office. The seat is currently being held by a senior district judge who is filling in.
Wagner’s daughter ran against Hughes in the primary but she lost. The campaign came down to who had more experience.
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District judges in Pennsylvania do not have to be attorneys.
District courts are the first level of the state’s Unified Judicial System. District judges oversee preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings; summary offenses; traffic offenses; municipal code violations; landlord and tenant cases; and civil claims where damages are not more than $12,000. District courts are the most common interaction the public has with the judicial system.
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