Kagarise outlines ‘vision’ for county court system

President judge questioned about filling vacant seat

Blair County President Judge Wade A. Kagarise on Thursday morning told members of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Club that he and the other judges are working on a "vision" for the court system that will include an assessment of "how our actions affect the community."

During his hour on the Chamber's "hot seat," he was asked questions about how the public perceives or mis-perceives the court system, how the jury system works, the success rate of the multiple specialty courts that have been created during the past two decades and how the county judges work with the magisterial district judges.

In his comments, he emphasized that the job of being a judge is much more than just sitting in the court hearing cases, thus explaining why it often takes so long for decisions to be made.

He also told the audience, which consisted primarily of business community members, about the importance of allowing workers to serve on juries, and said he strongly supported the specialty courts that address the community's drug and DUI problems by noting, "the whole purpose of a specialty court is to give a person who deserves it a second chance."

In early January, Kagarise began his second 10-year term in the Court of Common Pleas.

Because voters last November declined to retain then-President Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle, by virtue of seniority on the bench he assumed the role as president judge -- the chief administrator of the county court system.

The swearing-in ceremonies included two recently elected judges, Fred Miller, a former magisterial district judge, and Dave Consiglio, who worked for an area law firm.

The two new judges and Judge Jackie A. Bernard, who has been on the bench for the past eight years, attended the Breakfast Club get-together.

One of the questions Kagarise was asked was when will Doyle's now-vacant position be filled and what part "political party registration" will play in the process.

He explained that the governor has the power to name a replacement for the vacancy, but the Senate must confirm the replacement by a two-thirds vote.

The appointed judge will serve until the next municipal election in 2025, he explained, adding "it's a political process."

There are presently 18 county court vacancies in Pennsylvania.

Vacancies in Blair County's past have included both Republicans and Democrats.

He concluded the Senator who represents Blair County, Judy Ward, a Republican, and Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, will probably come to an agreement as to who will fill Doyle's vacancy and include that person in the next judgeship bill.

"The governor will work with her and someone will be appointed who both are happy with," Kagarise stated.

Vision for court system

His emphasis now, however, is creating a vision for the Blair court system that will better address the needs of Blair County.

The present four judges have already begun their assessment of the system, and court-related department heads have initiated meetings to come up with needs and develop plans for the future.

For instance, in discussing the specialty courts, Kagarise pointed out that there is a need for additional probation officers.

The specialty courts involve close supervision and testing of the participants.

Officers assigned to the specialty courts carry smaller caseloads, yet Blair has only 18 probation officers bearing a large caseload.

Noting a staff shortage in that area, Kagarise stated, "Some or our specialty courts could be in danger."

He then explained that hiring more probation officers would help move inmates through the system at a quicker pace and could result in savings of more than $2 million in the cost of housing those inmates in the county prison.

This is the type of analysis that Kagarise is posing and is stressing that it will involve working closely with other branches of government -- like the county commissioners who control the purse strings.

In talking about judgeship duties and the need to streamline the present system, Kargarise said that people "think all we do is be in court all the time. But we really do a lot more than that. The job requires a great deal of research, reading of case briefs, writing opinions and taking over administrative responsibilities."

"A large amount of work goes into the job that doesn't involve being in court," he stated.

In the past, a case entering the court system could "bounce around" from judge to judge, Kagarise said as he explained a recent change in the system.

The judges have now instituted a system that assigns each case to a judge who will guide it through the system.

The judges now work together, he said, in assigning the cases, with each judge managing his or her assigned caseload.

Jury service important

Kagarise in his presentation to the Breakfast Club also made an appeal, urging people to willingly serve on juries.

"The jury trial process is a fundamental system of our government," he said.

People say they can't serve on juries, but shutting off the jury system, "That's it," he stated in seeking words to express the harm it would do to our Democracy.

Kagarise explained how the county is streamlining its jury selection system to lessen the impact on the citizens who are called to duty, but, he stated, it means more people will be summoned for jury duty.

In conclusion, Kagarise stated Blair County has a large caseload in all phases of the court system.

He raised his arm well above his head to demonstrate Blair's caseload in comparison to the caseloads of other Fifth Class Counties in Pennsylvania.

"We have a large docket that just takes a lot of time. The job is really demanding," he said.

Joe Hurd, the president and CEO of the Blair Chamber of Commerce, said the session with the judges was a first for the Breakfast Club, explaining the court system "doesn't seem to have a high level of understanding among those with no direct connection to it."

One of the questions jokingly asked of Kagarise, "Which has a greater understanding of how the system works, the local business community, or the local criminal element?"

Somewhat surprised by the question, the judge answered, "The criminal element. They spend a lot of time on that."