Why a plan to hold all Bucks County DUI hearings only in Doylestown is back for review
For the third time in a year, the Bucks County judiciary has revived a plan to create a Central DUI Court that would force defendants to appear in Doylestown, rather than their local district court, for preliminary hearings.
The county judiciary is expected to submit its proposal to create a separate DUI court at the Bucks County Justice Center to the state judiciary oversight board for consideration next month.
Bucks County President Judge Wallace Bateman, who first floated the idea last year, maintains it would improve case efficiency and benefit court staff, police and defendants by providing a “one-stop shopping” approach to the cases.
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The previous attempts at creating the new minority court were opposed by the Bucks County District Judges Association, which unanimously voted against supporting the current proposed plan on Aug. 21.
The association has argued a central court disenfranchises citizens, creates financial and travel hardships for the lower and upper ends of the county, where most DUI arrests occur, and may violate due process rights for defendants who want to fight charges.
The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ultimately will decide if Bucks County gets to create the new permanent minority court for DUI cases or if local district courts will continue to be the first stop for defendants as cases move through the criminal justice system.
How would a Central DUI Court work in Bucks County?
Preliminary hearings for DUI cases would be scheduled once a month with morning and afternoon sessions and require two magisterial justices assigned to oversee cases for the day. Local district judges would serve rotating bench assignments in the central court.
Adult probation representatives would be available on-site on DUI court day, under the plan. Defendants also would be able to apply immediately for public defenders and meet with and schedule mandatory screening evaluations with treatment providers.
Defendants would be required to appear at the justice center; the exception is if a defendant has legal representation and waives their right to a preliminary hearing in writing beforehand. Arresting police officers would not be required to appear in court for the first listing, under the plan.
Incarcerated DUI defendants would be transported to the local district court where the case originated for their preliminary hearings, under the proposal, but other defendants may also have their hearings moved as well.
"The court has intended to send some cases back to the originating court for preliminary hearing; the only issue has been which cases," Bucks County Court Administrator Stephen Watson said in an email. "The court will amend the proposal in this regard as appropriate following a review of all the feedback received."
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What are the arguments for a Central DUI Court?
Among the main arguments in favor of a central DUI court is it improves efficiency, accelerates case disposition, which ultimately saves money, and gets defendants into treatment quicker.
In his petition, Bateman wrote that last year the county had 1,700 DUI cases handled by 18 district courts with different workloads, which resulted in unpredictable scheduling of preliminary hearings.
DUI defendants who are first-time offenders are eligible for a special probation program for nonviolent offenders, but at the district court level, defendants can receive inconsistent information about their legal options.
This creates a bottleneck of defendants who are “entirely unprepared” when the cases move to the formal arraignment stage.
The result is continuance requests so defendants can find legal representation, apply or complete conditions necessary for the special probation program.
A central court would also save taxpayers money by reducing travel time and expenses for district attorneys, public defenders and police departments to travel to individual district courts, proponents say.
Since the justice center is centrally located and accessible through public transportation it is “worst neutral” in terms of hardships for defendants, private attorneys, witnesses, and victims, according to the petition.
“While we recognize the impact on defendants who must travel to Doylestown for their first appearance rather than their local magisterial district court, it must be kept in mind that except for those cases that are dismissed at the preliminary hearing, all DUI cases will be required at least one appearance in Doylestown at the Justice Center,” Bateman wrote.
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Why Bucks County District Judges unanimously oppose a new DUI Central Court
In a statement, Bucks County District Judges Association President Lisa Gaier, a Quakertown district judge, disputed that a central court would save money and time. The group also claim it is unconstitutional.
The proposed plan would require magisterial judges to hear cases outside their elected jurisdiction on a regular basis, and restrict public access to courts, which violate the Pennsylvania Constitution and Rules of Criminal Procedure.
The association also disputes claims a central court will save tax dollars since it will require hiring additional court staff, and require police to travel further, costing more in overtime and leave communities with fewer officers for longer periods of time.
The financial hardship will be greatest on defendants, victims and witnesses because there is no convenient public transportation or easy way to get to Doylestown in the lower and upper ends of the county.
The Bateman petition noted the need to hire a central court coordinator, and did not address the financial impact on non-court participants for public transportation, gas and parking in Doylestown. Local district courts have free parking lots.
The district judges also argued that the proposal could be perceived as an attempt to “force” DUI defendants to waive their right to a preliminary hearing, a violation of their legal rights by creating a hardship since defendants who want a hearing would need to have a cast continued requiring a second trip to Doylestown.
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Do other Pennsylvania counties have central DUI Courts?
At least 17 counties have these courts, the closest to Bucks is Lehigh County, which started its twice-monthly court in 2019, and served as the program Bucks County modeled its petition on. These courts were created before last year's state Supreme Court order, and they are not affected by it.
Lehigh County has seen significant reductions in delays for cases, according to the Bucks County proposal.
Defendants eligible for ARD are getting approved for the program within three months down from 10 months before the central court started and the time between the filing of a complaint and the entering of a plea dropped from 11 months to five months.
What happens next with the Bucks County DUI Court plan?
Common Pleas court is accepting public comments through Sept. 14. Written comments can be submitted via email to DUICentralCourtComments@buckscounty.org or via USPS mail to Office of the Court Administrator, Bucks County Justice Center, 100 N. Main St., 2nd Floor, Doylestown, PA 18901.
Following the comment period, the petition will be submitted to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, which oversees the judiciary, which will review and make a recommendation to the state’s high court, which will make the decision. No timeline for a decision has been established.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County has revived its Central DUI Court plan. Here's the details
