WILKES-BARRE — A community crime watch group had an unusually high ranking representative of the criminal justice system speak at their monthly meeting on Monday — a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice.
Justice Correale Stevens, a native of the Hazleton area, spent nearly an hour explaining aspects of Pennsylvania’s justice system to the Wilkes-Barre North End Crime Watch group in the St. Mary’s Byzantine Church social hall.
And he spent another 15 minutes answering questions.
“I believe in going out in the community and explaining what goes on in the court system. I think that the more knowledge law-abiding citizens have, it’s a better weapon against crime because they understand the process better,” Stevens said. “I’ve always believed that.”
As Superior Court president judge, Stevens scheduled Superior Court hearings in venues across the state, rather than just the traditional locations of Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.
Stevens began his talk, as he often does, with some amusing anecdotes, including one about a masked convenient store robber who wore a work shirt that had his name on it when he pulled the hold-up.
Then he addressed everything from how district judges set bail to which appeals are heard by the Superior and Supreme courts. He spoke about police officers using reasonable suspicion versus probable for searches or arrests, as well as jury duty, the death penalty and judicial decision making.
And while first making it clear that he was not stating his political opinions, which sitting judges are not permitted to do, Stevens touched on some issues that he said he thought it important for the public to know about, such as a bill in the House Judiciary Committee that would change the way Pennsylvania judges are chosen.
Currently, all judges are elected. The bill would authorize a commission to choose judges based on merit.
“One of the arguments against the election of judges is some say it’s too political” because they accept political donations, Stevens said. But he noted that any donation to a judge’s campaign must be disclosed and is public record. Stevens said the bill would take away the right of citizens to elect judges.
Stevens said he asked supporters of the bill who would choose commission members, and they told him, “Well, it’s not going to be political. It’s going to be picked by the governor, and then it would go to the state Senate,” Stevens said, drawing laughter from the group.
Addressing complaints about delays in trials, Stevens said some can’t be avoided. But he also noted that Chief Justice Ronald Castille has expressed in written opinions that “federal public defenders are coming into Pennsylvania cases and they’re filing these legal motions in our court and in federal court. When they go into federal court, it ties the state court up. It looks like we’re not doing anything, but we’re stuck,” Stevens said.
“The … thing that you can do, if your Congressman ever comes to talk, is ask what they’re going to do about passing some laws to stop unnecessary delays — not the right to appeal, you have the right to appeal — but filing so many legal papers to tie things up. And our chief justice is saying that’s what’s being done,” Stevens said.
