The Basics
Every state has its own court system, with different layers and types of courts depending on the legal situation. There are statewide courts, including state level Supreme Courts and Courts of Appeals, but the vast majority of cases are handled by the local courts in your community: everything from criminal trials, to civil issues like landlord-tenant disputes and small claims, to cases requiring special circumstances, like family court issues.
Every court needs a judge, and in the vast majority of states judges are elected by the communities they work in. As a voter, it can be hard to find out exactly what these judges do, especially if your state’s court system is complicated. Judges are also bound by special ethics rules. Judges are supposed to make their rulings based only on the facts and the law, not their personal opinions or ideological beliefs. To abide by those rules, when candidates run for a position as a judge, they don’t talk about how they would decide on specific cases, and they don’t have a ‘platform’ of things they want to do if elected, like a lot of other candidates who run for office. But they are allowed to talk about their personal values, their approach to various legal issues and the law generally, and their opinions on past cases.
What does a trial judge do?
- Judges are like a referee during trials and everything leading up to them: they’re responsible for making sure everyone involved is following legal rules, ensuring constitutional rights are upheld, deciding what evidence can be considered, and more
- When a trial has a jury, judges make sure that juries know everything they need to know in order to reach their verdict
- If a trial has no jury, the judge themselves makes the ruling, giving them significant power over individual cases
- In many criminal trials, the judge will decide the sentence if the defendant is convicted, deciding whether and how long the defendant will be incarcerated, whether they owe any fines or restitution, and any other requirements of the sentence
*Many crimes come with sentencing guidelines or requirements that are set by state law, so the amount of discretion a judge has on sentencing can vary a lot.
Pennsylvania’s judicial elections
- For their first term, all judges run in partisan elections, meaning they run as representatives of their political parties (or candidates can run as independents instead)
- To be re-elected: Magisterial District Judges and Municipal Court Judges run in partisan elections every time. Court of Common Pleas Judges run in retention elections after they’ve served their first term. In a retention, the judge’s name appears on the ballot alone (with no one running against them), and voters choose whether to keep them in their role by simply voting ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
- Mandatory retirement age: judges must retire at the end of the calendar year in which they turn 75, even if their term isn’t over yet. Anyone 75 or older cannot run for a judgeship.
- Current judges who turn 75 can apply with the state Supreme Court to serve as senior judges. Senior judges don’t serve full-time, but can be called in to meet unexpected needs, such as a last-minute vacancy, an especially busy period in a court with fewer resources, or as a substitute when the usual judge has a conflict of interest and needs to step away from a case.
- If there’s a vacancy: the Governor of Pennsylvania will nominate a replacement, and the State Senate will confirm them. That replacement serves until the end of the term or until a special election can be held, whichever comes first.
How can I make my voice heard?
Democracy works when you do! Learn how to advocate for what you believe in, no matter the office or government agency, with our handy Genius Guides to advocacy.
Sources: the American Bar Association; the Constitution of Pennsylvania, Sections 513 and 516; the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania
What have local judges done in Pennsylvania?
Local judges oversee and rule on all kinds of cases in your community, shaping the legal system and influencing important policy issues like housing, criminal justice, and more. Here are just a few that have made a big impact:
- Stephen Corr
Court of Common Pleas
Dismissed a lawsuit from Bucks County seeking damages from fossil fuel companies, to help the county pay for infrastructure projects to deal with severe flooding caused by climate change - Sheila Woods-Skipper
Court of Common Pleas
Allowed a major renovation of Philadelphia’s FDR Park, including the installation of several new athletic fields, to move forward, dismissing a request from a group of residents to stop the project
Case Study: Veterans' Court in Westmoreland CountyLink
In October 2025, Judge Tim Krieger, who serves on the Court of Common Pleas for Westmoreland County, was given an award for outstanding service to the mental health community. The award recognized his efforts founding and presiding over the county’s Veteran’s Treatment Court, which has been in operation since 2019. This specialized program, designed for veterans charged with lower-level crimes (most misdemeanors and some lower-level felonies are eligible), allows participants to receive specialized treatment and interventions. Participants can avoid jail, receive a shorter sentence, or have their cases dismissed if they successfully complete the program.
Judge Krieger, who served in the U.S. Navy before beginning his legal career, says that veterans face unique challenges when returning to civilian life, including intense isolation and trauma related to their service. In some cases, these issues can lead to substance use or mental health problems that contribute to criminal behavior. The goal of the program is to address those underlying issues and help veterans successfully transition back into civilian life without re-offending. Treatment courts have become more common in recent years, with over 4,000 in operation across the country as of 2022. Drug-focused courts first emerged in response to the War on Drugs, as drug-related arrests started to rise massively in the 80s. In addition to drug courts and veterans’ courts like Westmoreland County’s, there are now specialized courts focused on mental health issues, family disputes, drunk driving, young people, and defendants returning to their communities after long prison sentences.
Veterans’ advocates involved in Westmoreland’s court say that under Judge Krieger’s leadership, veterans have been involved at all levels and the program is unusually adaptable to individual defendants’ needs, which contributes to its effectiveness. At least 64 participants have successfully graduated from the program, with 15 active participants at the time of the awards ceremony, and some graduates return to the program as mentors for current participants. Treatment courts are a powerful example of the ability of local judges to address community needs beyond individual cases.
Sources: Trib Live; the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas press release and Veterans Court information page; the U.S. Department of Justice; the Federal Probation Journal
How do local courts work in Pennsylvania?
Scroll down and click on each type of local judge to learn about term limits, qualifications, and what kinds of cases these judges oversee. (If you’re looking for info on Pennsylvania’s statewide courts, read more about the state Supreme Court here and the state Court of Appeals here.)
Court of Common Pleas JudgeLink
Term limits: none (retirement age applies); terms are ten years
Eligibility: to run for Court of Common Pleas Judge, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the district you want to serve in, at least 21 years old, and a member of the Pennsylvania state bar (the professional organization that qualifies lawyers to practice law in Pennsylvania)
Pennsylvania is divided into 60 judicial districts – most contain just one county, but seven have two counties. (Find yours here.) Every district has a Court of Common Pleas. Some courts have just one judge, and others with higher caseloads have dozens of judges and multiple divisions. The courts of common pleas are Pennsylvania’s trial courts, meaning they hear every civil or criminal case that requires a jury trial. A court of common pleas judge’s major responsibilities are:
- Larger civil cases
Requiring jury trials, or where the amount at stake is more than $12,000 - Criminal trials
From lower-level charges like theft, to serious felonies, including homicide - Family matters
Including divorce, custody, property distribution, adoptions, estate and guardianship cases, and more - Granting orders of protection
Crime victims and others who need protection orders can get them through their district’s court of common pleas
Sources: the Constitution of Pennsylvania; the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania on judicial elections, the Courts of Common Pleas, and obtaining a protection order
Magisterial District Court Judge (sometimes called Judge of Minor, Special, or Traffic Court)Link
Term limits: none (retirement age applies); terms are six years
Eligibility: to run for Magisterial District Court Judge, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the district you want to serve in, and at least 21 years old. To meet the experience requirement, you can either be a member of the Pennsylvania state bar (the professional organization that qualifies lawyers to practice law in Pennsylvania), or take a training course and pass an exam.
Pennsylvania’s judicial districts are subdivided into magisterial court districts, and these smaller districts each have Magisterial District Court, making these the most local courts in the state. (The one exception is Philadelphia, which has its own Municipal Court system instead.) Each court has one or multiple judges, depending on the size of the district and how many cases it deals with. For many civil and criminal issues, your local magisterial district court is the first stop, so these judges deal with a variety of legal issues. Their main responsibilities are:
- The initial steps of criminal cases
Issuing warrants for arrests and searches, setting bail after someone has been arrested, and other pre-trial hearings. If a criminal case goes to trial, it will go to the area’s court of common pleas - Hearing summary criminal cases and municipal code violations
These are criminal cases that are considered lower than misdemeanors, such as loitering, parking offenses, and noise violations, and are usually handled in a hearing with only a judge (no jury trial) - Traffic offenses
- Smaller civil cases
Where the amount at stake is less than $12,000 - Landlord-tenant disputes
Including evictions - Taking oaths
Such as, when a new elected official takes office - Marriages (in some courts)
Magisterial district court judges have the authority to perform marriages, but some judges choose not to do them – check with your local government to confirm where civil marriages are offered
Sources: the Constitution of Pennsylvania; the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania on judicial elections and the minor courts; the Bucks County court system; Montgomery County Magisterial District Courts
Municipal Court Judge (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh only; sometimes called Judge of Minor, Special, or Traffic Court)Link
Term limits: none (retirement age applies); terms are six years
Eligibility: to run for Municipal Court Judge, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the city you want to serve in, and at least 21 years old. To meet the experience requirement, you can either be a member of the Pennsylvania state bar (the professional organization that qualifies lawyers to practice law in Pennsylvania), or take a training course and pass an exam.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as the biggest cities in Pennsylvania, do things a bit differently than the rest of the state. Pittsburgh has a Municipal Court in addition to Magisterial District Courts; Philadelphia has a Municipal Court instead of Magisterial District Courts. In both cities, municipal courts are very similar to magisterial district courts – qualifications for their judges are the same, and the judges might be officially called one or the other on your ballot. There are some small differences in what each court handles.
Judges in the Pittsburgh Municipal Court handle:
- Summary criminal cases and violations of Pittsburgh city ordinances that occur within Pittsburgh city limits
These are criminal cases that are considered lower than misdemeanors, such as loitering, parking offenses, and noise violations, and are usually handled in a hearing with only a judge (no jury trial) - Traffic offenses from within Pittsburgh city limits
Except parking tickets and citations from the city’s Parking Authority - The initial steps of criminal cases
Including preliminary hearings for misdemeanors and felonies within Pittsburgh city limits, and preliminary hearings for homicides anywhere within Allegheny county - No civil cases
These are handled by the Magisterial District Court of Allegheny county
Judges in the Philadelphia Municipal Court handle more types of cases:
- Landlord-tenant disputes
Including evictions - Small-claims civil cases
Where the amount at stake is less than $12,000 - Code enforcement cases
Code enforcement laws are about buildings and land use, so these cases are about violations of safety rules, zoning, maintenance, and similar issues. This court handles cases where up to $15,000 is in dispute - The initial steps of criminal cases
Issuing warrants for arrests and searches, setting bail after someone has been arrested, and other pre-trial hearings. All arrests in Philadelphia county are processed in this court - Hearing summary and misdemeanor criminal trials
For felonies, the preliminary hearings are handled in municipal court, and the case is moved to the court of common pleas if it goes to trial - Traffic violations
Including things like speeding and driving with a broken headlight, but not including parking tickets. Certain traffic violations, like DUIs, are often considered more serious crimes, which means they will be moved on to the court of common pleas after preliminary hearings
Sources: the Constitution of Pennsylvania; the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania on judicial elections and the minor courts; Pittsburgh Municipal Court; Philadelphia Municipal Court; the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections