Mt. Pleasant Township district judge's office to close

The district judge’s office in Mt. Pleasant Township will be shuttered next month as part of plan to redistrict Westmoreland County’s remaining 16 local courts.

The move comes on the heels of last week’s resignation of Senior District Judge Roger Eckels, who for three decades presided over the court, hearing cases from Mt. Pleasant borough and township. Eckels, 65, retired as a full-time judge last year but, until last week, still heard cases there as a senior judge. He started work this week as the new chief deputy in the county Sheriff’s Office.

An order signed Tuesday by Common Pleas Court President Judge Rita Hathaway authorized the court’s closing. Starting March 1, all new civil, criminal and traffic offenses from Mt. Pleasant Township will be filed in the Hempfield court presided over by District Judge Anthony Bompiani. Cases from the borough will be brought before East Huntingdon District Judge Charles Moore.

Cases still pending in Eckels’ court will be heard through March by another senior judge.

Special Courts Administrator Don Heagy said next month’s moves are a precursor to a larger plan to close the Mt. Pleasant Township court and redraw boundary lines for the remaining courts in the county.

The four remaining staffers at Eckels’ office will be transferred to fill vacant positions in other local courts, Heagy said.

“We are required to do a redistricting after every (U.S.) Census. We plan to do ours early,” Heagy said.

Eckels’ retirement allows for his court to be closed without impacting the remaining district judges, Heagy said.

With fewer than 2,000 cases last year, the Mt. Pleasant Township court had the fewest in the county, Heagy said. The county’s busiest district court is in Hempfield. District Judge Mark Mansour handled more than 6,500 cases there last year.

Heagy said all 17 of the county’s district courts averaged about 3,600 cases in 2019.

“Our caseloads have declined over the last 10 years,” Heagy said.

A committee of court officials will craft the redistricting plan for approval in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Heagy said.

The redistricting comes as county officials continue to shift operations away from leased buildings in favor of newly built, county owned facilities. In recent years, the county built 12 buildings and leases space for courts in Mt. Pleasant Township, New Kensington, Penn Township, Unity, North Huntingdon and Ligonier.