News

Superior Court to Hold Special Session in Pottsville

News Article

April 06, 2015

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania will hold a special session in Pottsville on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 14 and 15, 2015. The court will convene in Courtroom #1 at the Schuylkill County Courthouse to hear cases on both days.

The court normally hears arguments on appeals in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, but occasionally visits other locations around the Commonwealth for special sessions like this one. The purpose is to better acquaint Pennsylvanians with the process by which matters before their state courts are considered and resolved.

The Superior Court was created in 1895 to assist the state Supreme Court in disposing of a burgeoning number of appeals in the growing Commonwealth. As such, the Superior Court exercises general jurisdiction statewide over all appeals from decisions of the state trial courts with the exception of death penalty appeals (heard by the Supreme Court) and cases brought against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its political subdivisions, such as school districts and municipalities (heard by the Commonwealth Court). 

The Superior Court is one of the busiest appellate courts in the nation, docketing more than 130,000 filings per year and deciding more than 8,000 individual cases involving civil, criminal, domestic relations, and orphans’ court claims. 

In providing a window on the work of the court, this special session offers an exceptional opportunity for members of the public in Schuylkill and neighboring counties to observe the service of the judiciary to all Pennsylvanians.

Serving on this special session panel will be Judges Mary Jane Bowes, Christine Donohue, and Cheryl L. Allen. All three judges maintain chambers in Pittsburgh. More information about the judges and the Superior Court is available at www.pacourts.us.

 

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Media contact: Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

(412) 565-7592