Of the Legal Staff
The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved the enabling legislation that would eliminate the Philadelphia Traffic Court in the wake of the latest ticket-fixing scandal within that body.
The Senate had already passed the bill but today concurred in two amendments made in the House of Representatives.
State Senator Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, the majority leader of the Senate and the sponsor of the legislation, said “it is past time to do away with this institution,” citing several past instances of criminal cases arising out of the court and the most recent criminal case in which several current and former Traffic Court judges were charged by federal prosecutors with ticket-fixing. Three judges have pled guilty. Six have entered pleas of not guilty.
When Governor Tom Corbett signs the bill into law, the elections for three Traffic Court judges scheduled for this year will be canceled, Pileggi said.
The legislation would create a traffic division within Municipal Court, would create two new Municipal Court judges to adjudicate any Traffic Court cases involving jail sentencing, and would provide that the one judge who is still sitting and has not been charged criminally would be phased out.
Legislators also have approved a second bill that would eliminate the constitutional authority for the Philadelphia Traffic Court if the legislation passes again in 2014 and then is approved by Pennsylvania voters in 2015.
Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.
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