Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Legal Overview The City of Philadelphia is the county seat of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The main trial court with general jurisdiction is the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. This court, along with the Philadelphia Municipal Court and the Philadelphia Traffic Court, makes up the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. The court of common pleas has a trial division for civil and criminal cases. It also has a family division and an orphans’ court division. The family division covers both domestic relations and juvenile cases.
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1. The Philadelphia Municipal Court is a limited jurisdiction court. It has criminal jurisdiction over cases where the maximum punishment is a five-year jail sentence. Its civil jurisdiction is limited to small claims not exceeding $12,000 and real estate cases or school tax cases not exceeding $15,000, along with unlimited amounts for landlord-tenant cases. The court also has the authority to hold initial hearings in felony cases, and bind the case over to the court of common pleas if there is sufficient evidence.
Trending Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Legal Topics: Appeals against the Philadelphia Municipal Court’s verdicts can be made by asking for a fresh jury trial in the court of common pleas. Appeals against verdicts obtained in the court of common pleas can in turn be filed with the Pennsylvania Superior Court, which is an intermediate appellate court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the state judicial system. Federal cases for Philadelphia will be handled by the Philadelphia Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. |