Aug 21, 2016 4 min read

Just a few years ago, Greene County’s three magisterial district courts were like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

But instead of porridge that was either too hot or too cold, the issues with the magistrates involved their caseloads.

One magistrate had too many cases. The other had too few. And the third was just right.

Statistics from 2012 showed District Judge Glenn Bates, whose district spanned the center part of the county, including the Interstate 79 corridor, had more than twice the number of cases as former magistrate Lou Dayich’s office that covers the more rural, western part of the county. District Judge Lee Watson, whose district encompasses the Carmichaels area and southeastern part of the county, was exactly between the two.

However, the issue appeared to be rectified in 2013 when the state Supreme Court redrew the district maps and moved three municipalities – Washington, Whiteley and Perry townships along the I-79 corridor – from Bates’ office into Dayich’s coverage area.

The change meant a major increase in traffic citations being processed by Dayich’s office because of the interstate traffic. But it evened out the overall caseload, and each office currently handles about 2,400 cases a year that range from speeding tickets to petty theft to landlord-tenant disputes.

But Bates, apparently feeling under-utilized with the lower, albeit even caseload, contacted Greene County President Judge Farley Toothman last year asking if some of those communities could be returned to his district. Toothman, who as president judge has the power to request the state judiciary to make a change, is now examining the issue and asked all three district judges to offer their thoughts on what should be done.

Bates wrote to Toothman in July he thought redistricting “would more evenly balance the workload in the county” because of the amount of traffic citations going to the other office. But Senior District Judge Jesse Cramer, who replaced Dayich earlier this year after Dayich won election to Common Pleas Court, disagreed and pointed to statistics that showed the caseloads were perfectly matched.

The offer by Bates is a testament to his work ethic, but it also seems unnecessary considering the state judiciary made change to even out the workload and, according to recent statistics, is working perfectly.

Regardless, Toothman is now holding two public hearings in his courtroom over the next few weeks – Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. and Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. – to listen to input from residents, police officers and government officials about whether he should request another change to the districts.

Toothman plans to decide before the end of September whether to petition the state Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. If so, the AOPC’s staff in Harrisburg will review the file and a final ruling will be made by the state Supreme Court.

“There are other things beyond those numbers that impact the weight of the decision,” Toothman said last week.

Those factors include how far state police have to travel from the interstate to attend hearings or for motorists who must pay tickets. But state police troopers said it isn’t an issue for them because they must travel to all three district offices for various cases.

The response by the police and Cramer raises questions about the need for the upcoming hearings if they think the system is working correctly. Even Toothman seemed to question whether the hearings on such a mundane topic would produce any interest from the public.

“Does anyone care?” Toothman admitted last week.

So while it’s understandable Toothman would want to hear as much feedback as possible before making a recommendation – or not making one – it seems the current caseload statistics are all the information he should need to know that no change is necessary.

The districts will be redrawn five or six years from now following the next census. It makes more sense just to wait until then to debate this topic again rather than bringing it up now.