Pennsylvania Legal Overview: Scranton-Wilkes-Barre The Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area in Pennsylvania is defined by the Census Bureau as covering Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties. Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are the two principal cities of this MSA. It is officially known as the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA, but is better known as the Wyoming Valley. Lackawanna County is served by the 45th Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Luzerne County comes under the 11th Judicial District, while Wyoming County is served by the 44th Judicial District. Listed below are the main cities in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metro area.
Top Pennsylvania cities for Legal Issues: Tunkhannock
1. The Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, located in Scranton, is the main trial court with general jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases. It handles felony cases and large civil disputes. It has a family court division and specialty courts for DUIs and adult and juvenile drug cases. Lackawanna County also has 11 limited jurisdiction magisterial district court judges and another centralized district court. These courts handle traffic citations, misdemeanors, and civil lawsuits not exceeding $8,000. They can also president over arraignments, hold preliminary hearings, and set bail.
Trending Legal Topics: Appeals against trial court verdicts in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metro area must be filed with the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Disputes over government agency rulings are heard by the Commonwealth Court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the court of last resort. All federal cases in Lackawanna and Wyoming counties are to be filed with the Scranton Division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Federal cases in Luzerne County must be filed with the same court’s Wilkes-Barre Division. |