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Criminal Justice

From the archives 2020

See how often your local Pa. district judges are actually in the courtroom

by Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of Spotlight PA |

Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters.

A yearlong investigation and data analysis by PennLive and Spotlight PA found huge variations in how many days Pennsylvania’s magisterial district judges actually spend in the courtroom, raising questions about whether the $237 million system is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

You can read the full investigation here, as well as this explanation of how the news organizations conducted the analysis.

Using the graphic below, click, tap, or search for your county and see how often your local judges held proceedings. (Can’t see the graphic? Click here.)

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