[Excerpt from an article published in the January 23, 2022, edition of the Bucks County Courier Times. Link: https://t.co/jZVyikf6dW]

 

The Bucks County judiciary is getting pushback over a proposal to close two district courts and open a new central court for driving under the influence cases located at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown.

 

The proposed closures are included in a draft of a re-establishment plan for the district courts, a process undertaken every 10 years in conjunction with the U.S. Census, said Robert Pollock, administrator for Bucks County's minor judiciary.

 

Bucks County President Judge Wallace Bateman is expected to approve the plan this week. It will then be subjected to a 30-day public comment period before it is forwarded to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for consideration.

 

Pollock declined comment on the plan until it is put out for public comment, but this news organization has received a copy of the recommendations, which have already received strong criticism from the county association representing the l8 district courts.

 

Elimination and consolidation of courts

 

The draft would eliminate the judicial district serving Northampton and Upper Southampton, splitting those filings between Warminster and Newtown courts. However, the Newtown court on State Street in the borough would be relocated to the current Northampton court location, and the Newtown court building would be closed.