Criminal and civil cases filed and closed in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court decreased last year.

Officials have published the annual comprehensive report detailing court activity in 2018. Numbers reveal that while the court remains busy, there was a drop off.

In criminal court, the number of new cases dropped to the lowest volume filed since before 2014.

New filings in civil court also declined, from 1,803 in 2017 to 1,488 last year. Fewer cases also were disposed of in 2018, leaving a backlog of 2,306 civil cases pending entering this year.

Family court caseload numbers showed increases in new divorces filed last year, while child custody cases decreased.

Protection from abuse, of PFA, filings rose more than 13 percent, from 752 in 2017 to 853 last year.

A by-the-numbers look at 2018 criminal case figures:

5,316

New criminal cases filed

3,960

Guilty pleas in criminal cases

875

Defendants who entered Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time non-violent offenders

20

Number of criminal jury trials

49

Criminal non-jury trials

118

Cases dismissed

Source: Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court

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