§ 1121 — Philadelphia Municipal Court

(a) Organization.--The Philadelphia Municipal Court shall be organized as follows:

(1) The General Division shall consist of 27 judges.

(2) The Traffic Division shall consist of four judges elected to the Traffic Court of Philadelphia prior to the effective date of this paragraph. If a vacancy in the Traffic Division occurs, the vacancy shall not be filled. This paragraph shall expire on the later of:

(i) the date of the ratification by the electorate of an amendment to the Constitution of Pennsylvania abolishing the Philadelphia Traffic Court; or

(ii) the date of the expiration of the longest term of a judge specified in subsection (c)(4).

(b) General Division.--

(1) A judge in the General Division must be an attorney at law.

(2) The salary of a judge in the General Division shall be as set forth in section 2.1(e) and (i) of the act of September 30, 1983 (P.L.160, No.39), known as the Public Official Compensation Law.

(3) The General Division shall exercise full jurisdiction of the municipal court under section 1123(a) (relating to jurisdiction and venue).

(c) Traffic Division.--

(1) A judge in the Traffic Division must:

(i) be an attorney at law; or

(ii) prior to assuming office, complete a course of training and instruction in the duties of the office and pass an examination.

(2) The salary of a judge in the Traffic Division shall be as set forth in section 2.1(f) and (i) of the Public Official Compensation Law.

(3) The Traffic Division shall, at the direction of the President Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, exercise jurisdiction under section 1123(a)(9).

(4) This subsection shall apply during the terms of all judges of the Philadelphia Traffic Court:

(i) who have been elected prior to January 1, 2014; and

(ii) whose term expires after December 31, 2017.

(5) A judge identified in paragraph (4) shall, until the expiration of the term to which the judge has been elected, serve as a judge in the Traffic Division.

(6) This subsection shall expire on the later of:

(i) the date of the ratification by the electorate of an amendment to the Constitution of Pennsylvania abolishing the Philadelphia Traffic Court; or

(ii) the date of the expiration of the longest term of a judge specified in paragraph (4).

(d) Annual report.--The President Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court shall file an annual report with the General Assembly regarding the Traffic Division. The report shall include how funding was allocated for the Traffic Division, the number of cases that came before the Traffic Division and how the cases were resolved by the Traffic Division.

Legislative History

(Feb. 14, 1997, P.L.3, No.2; June 19, 2013, P.L.55, No.17, eff. imd.) 1997 Amendment.Section 4 of Act 2 provided that the amendment shall take effect on the first Monday of January 1998. Section 3 of Act 2 provided that the first judges elected to those judgeships created under section 1121 shall be elected at the 1999 municipal election. References in Text.The Traffic Court of Philadelphia, referred to in subsec. (a)(2) and (5), was abolished by Joint Resolution No.2 of 2016. Cross References.Section 1121 is referred to in section 102 of this title.