WEBVTT 00:00:00.076 --> 00:00:01.196 A:middle >> My name is Bill Kissner. 00:00:01.846 --> 00:00:06.686 A:middle I am the Magisterial District Judge in Carbon County in the borough of Palmerton. 00:00:07.116 --> 00:00:11.306 A:middle And I sit and hear all the cases in the beginning 00:00:11.306 --> 00:00:13.476 A:middle in the system of the criminal justice system. 00:00:14.016 --> 00:00:18.646 A:middle And what I mean by that is from traffic all the way up to a murder case. 00:00:19.056 --> 00:00:22.806 A:middle The way the system works is if someone pleads not guilty to a case, 00:00:23.336 --> 00:00:27.116 A:middle my staff handles all the paperwork and they set them up for summary trial. 00:00:27.996 --> 00:00:32.956 A:middle The summary trial is usually schedule about 4 to 6 weeks out because of our schedule. 00:00:33.646 --> 00:00:37.076 A:middle And then what happens is the day of the summary trial, 00:00:37.486 --> 00:00:40.756 A:middle the person who is the defendant comes in, the police officer comes in. 00:00:41.506 --> 00:00:46.326 A:middle The police officer offers testimony regarding the violation or alleged violation. 00:00:47.096 --> 00:00:50.826 A:middle And then the ball goes over to the defendant and they're able to provide anything to the court 00:00:50.826 --> 00:00:54.026 A:middle that they feel necessary to try and prove their case and when I mean by that is 00:00:54.156 --> 00:00:57.866 A:middle through verbal testimony or some people actually bring in documentation 00:00:58.216 --> 00:01:01.686 A:middle as photos of say stop sign violation. 00:01:02.466 --> 00:01:05.526 A:middle And then they present their case and likewise the police officer's entitled 00:01:05.526 --> 00:01:09.226 A:middle to ask them questions and then I render a verdict of guilty or not guilty. 00:01:09.676 --> 00:01:14.516 A:middle The lowest level of a criminal case and it's called the summary offense in Pennsylvania. 00:01:15.106 --> 00:01:19.786 A:middle Most of the time that would be a harassment charge where 2 people get in an argument 00:01:20.486 --> 00:01:26.606 A:middle and they get cited because one may physically assault the other but not to the point 00:01:26.606 --> 00:01:28.906 A:middle of an injury, in other words, someone smacks someone. 00:01:29.286 --> 00:01:33.276 A:middle The higher level assaults then lead into what is considered a criminal case 00:01:33.276 --> 00:01:35.326 A:middle which is what we're talking about on criminal day. 00:01:35.666 --> 00:01:39.966 A:middle And those are misdemeanor and felony charges where that takes a different avenue. 00:01:40.256 --> 00:01:44.206 A:middle I don't render a verdict on that; I determine what's called prima facie on the case. 00:01:44.846 --> 00:01:49.856 A:middle We also, because there's only 4 of us in the county, every fourth week we are on call 00:01:49.856 --> 00:01:57.976 A:middle And what I mean by on call is 24/7 one of us has to be available for either arraignments 00:01:57.976 --> 00:02:02.626 A:middle of someone who's charged in the middle of the night, protection from abuse orders, 00:02:02.626 --> 00:02:07.516 A:middle someone who violates the protection from abuse order, search warrants and various other things. 00:02:07.516 --> 00:02:12.976 A:middle So 1 week a month is what it comes down to, we are on call 24/7 for a week.