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InPennsylvania, thecourts of common pleas are thetrial courts of theUnified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (thestate court system).
The courts of common pleas are the trial courts ofgeneral jurisdiction in thestate. The name derives from the medievalEnglish court of Common Pleas. Pennsylvania established them in 1722.[1]
They hearcivilcases with a significantamount in controversy andtrials for seriouscrimes. They haveoriginal jurisdiction over all cases not exclusively assigned to another court andappellate jurisdiction over judgments from the minor courts (which include the magisterial district courts in all counties but Philadelphia, thePhiladelphia Municipal Court and Pittsburgh Municipal Court). They also hear appeals from certainstate and most local government agencies.
The courts are established by Article V, Section 5 of thePennsylvania Constitution:
There shall be one court of common pleas for each judicial district (a) having such divisions and consisting of such number of judges as shall be provided by law, one of whom shall be the president judge; and (b) having unlimited original jurisdiction in all cases except as may otherwise be provided by law.
The courts of common pleas are organized into 60 judicial districts, 53 comprising one ofPennsylvania's 67 counties, and seven comprising two counties.
Each district has from one to 101 judges. Judges of the common pleas courts are elected to ten-year terms. A presidentjudge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district. In districts with seven or fewer judges, the president judge with the longest continuous service holds this position. In districts with eight or more judges, the president judge is elected to a five-year term by the court.