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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A new Luzerne County central court next to the Water Street prison is set to open Monday and start processing cases Oct. 16, officials said this week.</p><p>The new court&#8217;s funneling of all magisterial-level criminal cases through one location instead of district judge offices scattered around the county is expected to bring about efficiencies and speed up adjudication, court officials say. The 16 magisterial district judges will preside over central court on a rotating basis. Meanwhile, the district court offices will still be the place to handle traffic tickets and summary offenses.</p><p>As an example of a benefit, county Court of Common Pleas President Judge Richard Hughes pointed out that Treatment Court Coordinator Kelly Cesari will be at central court three days per week to more quickly identify offenders who could benefit from the drug and mental health courts. This involvement wasn&#8217;t possible with cases processed at multiple locations, he said.</p><p>The central site also will allow a contracted representative to be at the building on Thursdays, when DUI cases will be heard, to pinpoint candidates who may be eligible for the county&#8217;s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program for first-time offenders of minor offenses.</p><p>If a defendant successfully completes the probationary period, the criminal history is erased.</p><p>This early intervention should allow judges to rule on ARDs in 45 days instead of the current six months to a year, Hughes said.</p><p>&#8220;We see that as a real positive,&#8221; he added.</p><p>Scheduling also is expected to improve with the new system, said David Lupas, one of three county Court of Common Pleas judges who preside over criminal cases.</p><p>Criminal matters typically are assigned to both county judges and assistant public defenders based on geographical areas, officials said. Lupas said he will now avoid scheduling his hearings on days magisterial-level cases from his area are being heard in central court to reduce continuances that delay adjudication.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of times, we have issues where attorneys have to be in multiple places at the same time,&#8221; Lupas said. &#8220;We&#8217;re trying to accommodate everybody&#8217;s schedules and make everything more efficient.&#8221;</p><p>The presence of assistant public defenders at central court also should prompt more income-eligible offenders to apply for representation sooner, Lupas said. Some defendants still have no legal representation when their cases advance to the county level, causing scheduling delays and missed proceedings, he said.</p><p>James Dougherty was reassigned from another court supervisory position to oversee central court, Hughes said, noting the court budget won&#8217;t increase due to central court staffing.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Big help&#8217;</strong></p><p>The addition of a separate inmate entrance and other modifications to convert the former residential structure into a central court were funded by a $25,000 allocation in the court&#8217;s 2017 budget.</p><p>Police will escort inmates on foot to the central court for proceedings, which is expected to reduce traffic jams at the prison sally port dock area. Central court will also eliminate the need for police to make two trips back and forth to their local district court office for hearings.</p><p>If defendants at central court want a preliminary hearing, a specific time will be set for the following week so police won&#8217;t be tied up for hours waiting in a &#8220;cattle-call situation,&#8221; said Hughes.</p><p>&#8220;We think that&#8217;s going to be a big help to the municipalities, especially those that only have one police officer,&#8221; he said.</p><p>In addition, the new system will require prosecutors to get involved in cases sooner at the magisterial level. These district attorney&#8217;s office representatives have the ability to negotiate plea agreements, determine if the initial evidence supports charges that have been filed, and weigh in on bail.</p><p>About 60 percent of county prison inmates are awaiting adjudication, as opposed to serving sentences, compared to a national average of 30 percent, court officials have said. Hughes said the county judiciary wants to flip that number so 60 percent of county inmates are serving sentences, predicting the shift would dramatically reduce prison expenses and overcrowding.</p><p>The building at 77 Water St. now occupied by central court previously housed the county Veteran Affairs Office, which recently moved to another county-owned property near the Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County President Judge Richard Hughes is shown outside the county prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre in June discussing the advantages of a new central court that is set to open Monday in an adjacent county-owned building. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_centralcourt1toned-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County President Judge Richard Hughes is shown outside the county prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre in June discussing the advantages of a new central court that is set to open Monday in an adjacent county-owned building. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County’s new central court opening Monday