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Magisterial District[edit]

The Berks County Magisterial District is a trial court of Magisterial Districts in Pennsylvania.

Judges[edit]

Former judges[edit]

Elections[edit]

See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections

Pennsylvania is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Pennsylvania, click here.

Selection method[edit]

See also: Partisan election of judges

Judges of the Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts are selected in partisan elections. They serve six-year terms. After their initial term, magistrates must run for new terms in contested races.^[2]^[3]

Qualifications
A judge must be:

a local resident for at least one year;^[3]
a state bar member;*
no younger than 21; and
no older than 75.

*Magisterial district judges may alternatively pass a training course to sidestep the bar member requirement.^[3]

Election rules[edit]

Primary election[edit]

Though the state holds partisan elections, most candidates cross-file with the major political parties. If a candidate wins both the Republican and Democratic primary, he or she runs unopposed in the general election.

Retention election[edit]

All judges except those of the magisterial districts face retention elections following their initial term. After a judge has won an initial partisan election, subsequent terms are attained through retention elections. In retention elections, judges do not compete against another candidate, but voters are given a "yes" or "no" choice whether to keep the justice in office for another term. If the candidate receives more yes votes than no votes, he or she is successfully retained. If not, the candidate is not retained, and there will be a vacancy in that court upon the expiration of that term. This applies to all judges except magisterial district judges, who are always elected in partisan elections.^[4]^[5]

External links[edit]

List of Magisterial District judges

Footnotes[edit]

Pennsylvania courts

Federal courts:

Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania

State courts:

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts

State resources:

Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania

[1] The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "Magisterial District Judge List," accessed January 12, 2016

[2] Pennsylvania Courts, "How Judges Are Elected," accessed July 22, 2015

[limited-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania; Limited Jurisdiction Courts," archived October 3, 2014

[4] Pennsylvania Courts, "How Judges Are Elected," accessed July 22, 2015

[5] Pennsylvania General Assembly, "Constitution of Pennsylvania, Article V, Section 15," accessed April 30, 2014

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Berks County Magisterial District, Pennsylvania