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Welcome to the Court of Common Pleas 43rd Judicial District

 

 
 
    
(updated 4/2/2020 at 6:45 PM)
Monroe County Court - Judicial Emergency
Please note that this website/Special Coronavirus Announcements section will be updated as new information about the Court’s modified operations becomes available; please continue to check here often.
 
 
As of March 16, 2020, President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington declared a judicial emergency in the 43rd Judicial District of Pennsylvania for the period of March 16, 2020 to April 14, 2020.  On April 1, 2020, that original declaration period was extended to April 30, 2020 via the issuance of Emergency Administrative Order 73 AD 2020.
The text of the Court’s Emergency Administrative Order (65 AD 2020 filed March 17, 2020) follows; please read the entire the document and note that an Extension of Emergency Order (73 AD 2020 filed April 1, 2020) was issued by the Court extending April 1, 2020 dates below to close of business April 30, 2020. (copies of all of the Court’s Emergency Administrative Orders are available by clicking the applicable link above):
    And Now, this 17th day of March, 2020, pursuant to this Court’s Declaration of Judicial Emergency dated March 16, 2020 through April 14, 2020, We hereby AUTHORIZE and ORDER the following pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 1952(B) (2):
 
1. Except as provided in paragraphs 2 and 3, all scheduled proceedings, programs, conferences, hearings and trials in the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, 43rd Judicial District, and the Monroe County Magisterial District Courts commencing Wednesday March 18, 2020 through and including Tuesday April 14, 2020 are CONTINUED. Each proceeding will be rescheduled to a new date and time by Court Order.
 
2. From the close of business Wednesday March 18, 2020 through the close of business Wednesday April 1, 2020 (now April 30, 2020), Emergency Matters, as delineated in paragraph 3, will be accepted for filing in person or electronically, reviewed and scheduled for hearing by the assigned Judge.
 
3. Emergency Matters for filing and hearing are the following:
a. Protection from Abuse/ Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation Act
b. Mental Health Procedures Act
c.  Petitions for Emergency Guardianship of a person or estate of an incapacitated person
d. Abortion Control Act petitions
e. Civil Injunctions  for which immediate irreparable harm is alleged
f.   Emergency Child Custody
g. Juvenile Dependency Shelter Care and Adjudication using ACT
h. Juvenile Delinquency Detention and Adjudication  using ACT
i.    Criminal proceedings for which the Defendant is incarcerated for Bail, Parole, Parole/Probation Revocation, Bench Warrants, Pleas and Sentencings using ACT, search warrants and arrest warrants
j.   Any emergency civil matters as a result of the public health emergency
 
4. Non-emergent criminal and juvenile filings shall be made electronically using PacFile in accordance with local and state rules effective immediately through the close of business on April 30, 2020.
 
5. Non-emergent filings in civil, family and orphans court matters are authorized to be filed by first class mail or electronically commencing immediately through the close of business April 30, 2020. The Monroe County Prothonotary/Clerk of Orphans Court is authorized to accept said filings by email, with pleadings attached as PDF documents, one pleading per email, for the purpose of preserving the date filed.  Pleadings shall be signed and comply with all local and state rules and sent to protcivilfiling@monroecountypa.gov or orphanscourtfiling@monroecountypa.gov.  Filing fees shall be payable to the filing office and sent by first class mail within 7 days of filing to the filing office at 610 Monroe Street, Stroudsburg, PA  18360. 
                 
6. Magisterial District Courts in Monroe County will be closed from the close of business Wednesday March 18, 2020 until the close of business Wednesday April 1, 2020 (now April 30, 2020) except for Criminal Cases involving incarcerated Defendants as delineated in paragraph 3. All hearings will be conducted by the on-call MDJ on a rotating weekly basis using ACT.
 
7.  The Domestic Relations Office will be closed from the close of business Wednesday March 18, 2020 through the close of business Wednesday April 1, 2020 (now April 30, 2020) and all new filings may be made online at www.childsupport.state.pa.us.
 
8. The Adult and Juvenile Probation Offices will be available with essential personnel to handle Emergency Matters as delineated herein.  Supervision services will use technological resources and the offices will otherwise be closed from the close of business Wednesday March 18, 2020 through the close of business Wednesday April 1, 2020 (now April 30, 2020).
 
9. Payments of fines and costs in pending cases may be made online at https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/PayOnline.aspx.
 
10.     Public Access to Judicial facilities from the close of business Wednesday March 18, 2020 through the close of business Wednesday April 1, 2020 (now April 30, 2020) is limited to Court and County officials and employees, attorneys with business in the judicial facility in emergency or time sensitive matters, litigants for the purpose of filing emergency petitions delineated herein, parties to a scheduled case, credentialed members of the Media and any other person seeking access upon petition to the President Judge or her designee filed in the manner of an emergency petition herein.
 
BY THE COURT
 
**** END****
 
The Court continues to monitor developments on the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and any potential impact on Court operations, Court users and Court Employees.  We are communicating regularly with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, county officials and are also monitoring the latest information released through the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) as well as consulting local health care professionals.
As this situation continues to develop, we will look to the aforementioned resources as well as additional resources for guidance on any adjustments needed to protect the health and safety of Court users and Court and County employees.
If you are required to come to the Courthouse during this time, please be sure you need to be here and please come alone:
-     Do not bring children to the Courthouse.
-     Do not bring relatives or friends unless they are mandated by Order of Court.
-     Individuals scheduled for Court are encouraged to remain outside of the building or in their vehicle until just before the scheduled time of their Court proceeding (allow time for security screening at the front door).
If you are a party to a case in the Court of Common Pleas or at an MDJ Court, you should stay in contact with your attorney; please also see our COVID-19 INFO/FAQs. 
Pro se (self-represented parties) should refer to our COVID-19 INFO/FAQs.
Other Court users can find additional information in our COVID-19 INFO/FAQs.
All Sheriff Sales scheduled for March 26, 2020 are continued to May 28, 2020 and all Sheriff Sales scheduled for April 30, 2020 are continued to June 25, 2020. For further details regarding the Sheriff Sales, please see Emergency Administrative Order 69 AD 2020.
The Sheriff’s Department is not processing concealed carry permits at this time.
The Prothonotary’s Office is not processing new passport requests at this time.  Please refer to the U.S. Department of State’s website (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html) for more information and resources regarding passports.
Please continue to check http://www.monroepacourts.us/ for updates.  As always, please reference the “Calendar” link on this page to see scheduled proceedings for criminal cases for the Court of Common Pleas.
COVID-19 Questions? Call 1-877-PA-HEALTH (1-877-724-3258)
If you are sick, please stay home and contact your health care professional for assistance/direction.
 

Mission: The Courts of the 43rd Judicial District of Pennsylvania, as an independent branch of government, are dedicated to the administration of justice in a fair, impartial and timely manner in accordance with the rule of law and the constitutions of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
 
The Court of Common Pleas of the 43rd Judicial District is a state trial court of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. It encompasses the County of Monroe. The Court hears civil cases with a significant amount in controversy and trials for serious crimes. The Court has original jurisdiction over all cases not exclusively assigned to another court and appellate jurisdiction over judgments from the minor courts. The Court also hears appeals from certain state and most local government agencies. The courts are established by Article V, Section 5 of the Pennsylvania 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 Court of Common Pleas of the 43rd Judicial District has 6 judges. Judges of the Common Pleas courts are elected to 10-year terms. A president judge and a court administrator serve in each judicial district.
 
 
 
 


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