Reading, Pennsylvania Legal Overview The City of Reading is the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania. The Court of Common Pleas of Berks County is the main trial court with general jurisdiction over cases from Reading. This court, which is located in Reading, comes under the 23rd Judicial District of Pennsylvania. This court includes separate trial divisions for both criminal and civil matters. The court of common pleas also has a family court and a domestic relations section for handling divorce petitions and other family law cases.
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1. The Reading Magisterial District Judge handles limited jurisdiction cases wherein the maximum punishment for criminal cases is a jail sentence not exceeding five years. They cannot receive civil cases exceeding $12,000, which have to be filed as a small claim. Real estate and school tax disputes may be filed for amounts not exceeding $15,000. Landlord-tenant disputes adjudicated by the magisterial district judge can be of any amount. The judge also has the authority to conduct initial felony hearings to determine if there is sufficient evidence to bind the case to the court of common pleas.
Trending Reading, Pennsylvania Legal Topics: Appeals against verdicts handed down by the Reading Magisterial District Judge must be filed with the court of common pleas, where the case will get a new trial. Appeals against the court of common pleas are heard by the Pennsylvania Superior Court. This is the intermediate appellate court, with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court above it as the state judiciary’s apex court. The federal court for Reading and the rest of Berks County is the Reading Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. |