The proposal to close the district courthouse in Bristol Borough has been scrapped.
In recent weeks, a proposal from the county courts has circulated. The plan included closing Magisterial District Court 07-1-02 on Bath Street in Bristol Borough when District Judge Frank Peranteau retires in December 2024. It also called for closing the court in Newtown Borough and forming a central system for DUI cases.
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Magisterial District Court 07-1-02 currently covers all of Bristol Borough and portions of Bristol Township, including Croydon and West Bristol.
Bristol Borough Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said on Monday he didn’t want to see the district court close, but he would have to examine the plan further.
The circulated plan to close two courts and change the way DUI cases are handled was opposed by the Bucks County Magisterial Justices Association, which represents judges who work out of the county’s 18 district courthouses.
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After the previous plan was circulated, the county court administration changed course amid the opposition and issued their new plan to the public.
Stephen Heckman, the court administrator for the county, said the previous proposal circulated was a draft as part of the decennial district court reestablishment plan that needs to be submitted to the state.
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In their official re-establishment proposal, county court administration proposes keeping all the current courts open and adjusting some districts to “better balance case counts and workloads.”
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The proposal calls for redrawing the court coverage area for Magisterial District Court 07-1-02 to add two sections of Bensalem Township along the Neshaminy Creek to the Bristol Borough district court’s caseload. The proposal also would move cases filed by the Bucks County Rangers related to activity from county park property at the Delaware River Access Area in Bensalem Township to the Bristol Borough courthouse.
The proposal issued by the county courts also makes changes to district court coverage areas in the central and upper parts of Bucks County. It additionally calls for all state police cases from the Parx Casino campus in Bensalem Township to be filed at District Court 07-1-09 in Warminster Township.
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Magisterial District Court 07-1-04 on New Falls Road, which hears cases from part of Bristol Township and all of Tullytown Borough, was being considered for closure in 2021. However, the plan was rejected by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
In 2017, the county courts closed district court houses in Lower Southampton Township and Perkasie.
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Members of the public who wish to offer comment on the proposed changes can do so by writing to MDJcourtplan@buckscounty.org, faxing a message to 215-348-6503, or mailing a letter to the Office of the Court Administrator c/o Reestablishment Comments, Bucks County Justice Center, Doylestown, PA 18901. All comments can be submitted through Feburary 25.
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