Adding a Common Pleas Judge

The Judge dropdown, which appears after completing the Select Cases screen for a new Miscellaneous docket case, is used to identify the trial court judge that issued the order being appealed. This action, which is required by the Superior Court, ensures that the appropriate judge is included in the document service process that is completed through the Service tab.

On most appellate court cases, the order being appealed is the one that disposed the trial court case. Orders appealed on the Superior Court Miscellaneous docket, however, can be the final order of the trial court or one that is interlocutory Any order given before the final order is issued.. Given the unique circumstances of the trial court case, it is also possible that one or more of the appealable orders were issued by different judges.

This dropdown, therefore, is used to identify the judge that issued the specific order on appeal. Based on the Common Pleas court docket number entered in the Select Cases screen, if a judge was recorded systematically by the trial court, PACFile automatically displays the name of that judge in the dropdown. This default can be confirmed for accuracy or changed if necessary. Do not assume that the default judge is the appropriate selection for your filing. If a judge was not uniquely identified on the trial court case, no name defaults and the appropriate choice must be selected from the dropdown list.

If you do not know the name of the judge that issued the order being appealed, it can be found on the hardcopy order from the trial court.

Once the judge is identified, click Submit to continue to the Participants tab.