.widget-row.value-only.black { The motion further contends that any request for inspection by unqualified parties risks decertification of the voting machines. First Assistant County Solicitor Cody Kauffman argued that the petitions should be denied because they do not present evidence of a specific act of fraud or error that occurred. } } font-weight: bold; background-color: white; "Judge Lillis' order lacked both a factual basis. Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas Talarico had a previous burglary conviction that made him ineligible to possess a firearm. People look to the judicial system for fair and equitable justice. The petitions do not do that. Feb. 14With a two-decade law career in both private and public practice, Berks County Assistant District Attorney Justin Bodor is now seeking election as a county judge. The county appreciates the time and attention Judge Lillis has devoted to this matter, it said. .widget-row.Libertarian { The Hon. Court of Common Pleas Judges (610) 478-6208 Court Reporters 14th Floor Courthouse (610) 478-6467 Domestic Relations 6th Floor Services Center (610) 478-2900 background-color: grey; text-align: center; y !1 AQa"2Bq#3R$br4% The issue resulted in 29 precincts being forced to hold up voting until county workers could deliver paper poll books to the precincts. .courts-container hr {background-color:#f0a236;padding-bottom:2px;}, Third Circuit Court of Appeals U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Geishauser ran for election to the Berks County Court of Common Pleas. Judge James M. Bucci retired last December, and Judge Mary Ann Ullman has announced that she will . It says the petitioners failed to plead and verify specific acts of fraud or error, while not asking for a recount of all votes cast for the office in question across the county. Scott D. Keller. Berks County 23: President Judge Honorable M. Theresa Johnson Court of Common Pleas of Berks County Berks County Courthouse 633 Court Street . color: black; float: right; Over the course of his judicial career, Yatron reorganized the adult and juvenile probation departments into the Probation and Parole Department. This is a development website: This website is the development website for the County of Berks. Judge Barrett's ARD In an effort to streamline upcoming ARD Court; all required documents and forms, as well as instructions in their use, are provided in this section of the website. } background-color: #f9d334; } Jason Ulrich, an attorney for the Berks County Democratic Committee who joined the county in opposing the petitions in court, said on Tuesday that the organization is pleased with the ruling. 0000000916 00000 n They were filed by the Berks County Republican Committee on behalf of 94 individual voters. } } font-weight: bold; O This is a development website: This website is the development website for the County of Berks. &'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ? color: white; The petitions were filed last month by the committee on behalf of 94 individual voters. .widget-row.value-only { A Muhlenberg Township man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing his girlfriend in their apartment and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in a state prison. He said that since these machines have been in use for several years they would have expected to hear about this issue before this election. background-color: #f9f9f9; This is troubling and I believe potentially dangerous.. The motion further contends any request for inspection by unqualified parties risks decertification of the voting machines. text-align: center; Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. font-weight: bold; .widget-img { In a similar case in Forest County, Kauffman said, a judge threw out petitions for that exact reason. Pat Barrett. 8 0 obj <> endobj When asked by the judge whether the committee would hire handwriting experts to verify the signatures, he said he believes that bringing in experts would not be necessary to complete the task. They said Talarico was driving Moyers car. Additionally, the county asserts that the most accurate way to conduct a recount is by using machines designed to accurately count votes. 0000000839 00000 n and services. ipp sentence pa, ard in pa for dui, ard dui program, judge lillis berks county, berks county judge, berks county dui arrests, judge eleni dimitriou geishauser, ard for dui Algorithm to authorities, but gets lost, mugged or . Copyright 2023, All Rights Reserved | color: white; Over the last number of years, we find ourselves in a very difficult place in elections. Mr. Wertz and Mr. Skrocki were sworn in by Judge Lillis. In August 2018, Berks County Common Pleas Judge James M. Lillis to a requester and in October 2018, Commonwealth Court Judge Simpson to a requester. Pennsylvania's judicial elections included a primary on May 19, 2015, and a general election on November 3, 2015. An order from Judge James Lillis was released to the parties involved on Tuesday. And, in a county that uses an electronic voting system, the recount can be done using electronic devices of a different type than used for the specific election. The purpose of this blog is to provide information about the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law and related statutes and decisions. They argue that a hand recount introduces the likelihood of human error into the counting process. width: 150px; University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1982, .infobox { Get local Breaking News alerts sent directly to your inbox. } from the Dickinson School of Law. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the recount effort in Berks is part of a statewide attempt by supporters of failed gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano to flood Pennsylvania courts with petitions seeking to force hand recounts. }, James M. Lillis is a judge for the Berks County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Judge Barrett's Court; Judge Lillis's Court; The county now plans to certify the results at an elections board meeting Thursday. Prior to his election, Lillis worked as a shareholder at Kozloff, Diener, Payne & Fegley, where he specialized in municipal, land use, and education law matters. David L. Plum. Adult Probation is no longer completing ARD DUI Walk-ins at this time. She covers county government as well as policy issues at the state and federal level with a local focus. He was elected to the bench on November 7, 2017, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. in English from Immaculata College and her J.D. Two unverified petitions were presented to Judge Lillis, and thats important because under the rules, a petition must be verified if they contain facts that are not of record. )0mpuJ Magisterial District Judge 39-3-03: Fannett Township, Hamilton Township, Letterkenny Township, Lurgan Township. 100% remote. This judge is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. .widget-row { .clearfix { The Berks County Republican Committee said they filed the petitions after receiving complaints from some voters that voting machines were changing votes cast for Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate to ones for the Democratic candidates. A hearing about the petitions will be held before Berks County Judge James Lillis on Thursday morning. Apr. .widget-value { Ludgate Berks County Court of Common Pleas: J. Benjamin Nevius Berks County Court of Common Pleas: Thomas G. Parisi Berks County Court of . 199 MM . Scott E. Lash. background-color: grey; 3. Our employment practices are not influenced or affected by race, color . padding-left: 10px; Winter said election law allows for recounts at individual precincts. color: white; Dec. 6 A Berks County judge has dismissed petitions by the Berks County Republican Committee seeking a recount of ballots cast during general elections in 30 counties in the county. After the killing, he cleaned up the bedroom d by picking up the shell casings ejected from the gun. We have hundreds of people who are going to be denied the ability to vote because they erred. 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We want to examine these machines so we can see exactly what is going on. County election officials fought the petitions, saying they were unfounded and should be dismissed. The Pennsylvania election provides that the polls shall be open for only thirteen hours, 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on election day, Mercer said. Leinbach noted that the reason the commissioners did not object to the petition to Lillis was because they wanted to be fair to any affected voters who were unable to cast ballots in the morning of May 17. Winter said that allowing the verification of signatures on mail ballots would ensure there were no forged ballots cast. display: inline-block; Posted in Court Decisions. Pennsylvania Superior Court And, he said, this is not an issue the committee has ever heard about before. McCormick has also filed petitions in the Commonwealth Court and with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to have undated and unsigned mail-in ballots counted, in opposition to current law. On November 26, 2018, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records issued one of its periodic email topic alerts reporting on and linking to these two Court decisions. The county elections board and the Berks County Democratic Committee fought the initial petitions, saying they were without merit and should be dismissed. 1. Kauffman argued the provision does not require a hand recount, it merely requires that the vote should be recounted by people designated by the court. He was elected to the bench on November 3, 2015. .widget-row.heading {

} Mike Urban joined the Reading Eagle as a metro reporter in 2002, and since then has covered a wide range of beats and topics across Berks County, including working as an investigative reporter. color: white; The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary. And, he said, if fraud or error is found on those recounts it would trigger a full recount at all precincts. Theresa Johnson. !'#))'#&%,1?5,. This would be a very different conversation if these voters requested a recount based on actual evidence, he said. File a Formal Complaint . ALERT! Bodor, a Democrat from Oley Township, will cross-file to appear on both the Republican and Democratic ballots in the May primary election. Leinbach also said he was extremely disappointed with the McCormick campaign for filing the challenge. %PDF-1.4 % .clearfix { font-weight: bold; He shall have the authority to transfer and reassign cases within the Civil Court Division. %%EOF The petitions were filed under a little-known provision of state election law that allows a precincts results to be recounted if three voters from the precinct file a petition in county court saying they believe fraud or error occurred there and those voters pay a combined $50. Before arriving at the Reading Eagle, Karen covered policy issues in Harrisburg and Washington for LNP. color: white; Kauffman said this request falls outside the scope of what is permissible under the provision and is an improper attempt to gain access to information without going through the proper requirements and procedures in the election code and Right-to-Know law. background-color: green; Berks County election officials believe petitions that have been filed demanding recounts in 30 precincts are without merit and should be dismissed, paperwork filed Wednesday shows. That may have prevented some Berks . margin: auto; font-weight: bold; His practice includes representing clients about Right to Know Law matters before the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, Common Pleas Courts and Commonwealth Court. PLEASE READ THE BELOW INFORMATION CAREFULLY. If you would like to help our coverage scope grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia. Tips to help protect your smartphone from thieves, What the Tech? Karen Shuey joined the Reading Eagle staff in 2015. Francis J. Catania is a partner in the Media, PA, law firm of Catania & Parker, LLP, and has been practicing law for over 30. } Both sides had a chance last week to make their cases in county court. Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach called the challenge troubling. Before arriving at the Reading Eagle, Karen covered policy issues in Harrisburg and Washington for LNP. The live site is https://www.co.berks.pa.us . He had been in Berks County Prison awaiting trial. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 14 0 obj <>stream The results of the 2022 election have been certified by the county elections board and the state. 2. First Assistant County Solicitor Cody Kauffman said the problem on primary election day was a rapidly evolving situation and that a joint petition was filed without knowing -at that time- which precincts were having issues with the electronic poll books. Prior to his election, Nevius was a commercial litigation partner at Fox Rothschild. 0000000584 00000 n He said he brings to the table 20 years of impactful experience in the legal . margin-bottom: 1px; Please contact Lisa A. Siciliano, . width: 250px; The petitions were dismissed by Berks Judge James Lillis on Dec. 6. 4. IWa~#m8#&N7} N!KJX border:1px solid #FFB81F; He was elected on November 3, 2015.[1]. /Img1 Do The Berks County Board of Elections submitted a response to petitions that were filed last Monday in county court. color: white; The live site is https://www.co.berks.pa.us width: 250px; A manual recount of all paper ballots generated by the voting machines, as well as all mail, postal, and provisional ballots. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. This becomes clear when we see their campaign challenging a duly entered court order to not count votes, and then in the same meeting, call for the counting of votes of undated or unsigned ballots. Winter conceded there is no way to match the individual voter with their ballot, but argued the list will serve as a check on the system to ensure the voting systems captured the correct number of votes. Ms. Smith attended The county states that this request falls outside the scope of what is permissible under the provision and is an improper attempt to gain access to information without going through the proper requirements and procedures set forth in the election code and Right-to-Know law. The judges of the Berks County Court of Common Pleas include: A. Joseph Antanavage. Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas When confronted by police, Talarico removed his clothes and fled into the woods. float: right; McCormick is specifically challenging the 215 provisional ballots cast during the extended hour. color: white; Ballotpedia does not currently cover this office or maintain this page. You have permission to edit this article. The voters relied on the announcement that the polls would be open for an extra hour, Bukowski said. Talarico shot his girlfriend, Eloise Moyer, twice in the face in their Hyde Park apartment on or about July 7, police said. A statement from the county applauded the decision. 3. He joined the bench in 2006. } #9 ` )$'R%]O#[iqIW_x @T[RJRN[ $/InEx L6a:HPP? Lastly, the county says the election department already performed a statistical recount of the votes cast in the 2022 general election and found that the results were accurate. } Talarico took investigators to that spot, and they recovered the firearm. font-weight: bold; READING, Pa. The Berks County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to deny a challenge by David McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, that asked the elections board to not count provisional ballots cast after 8 p.m. on May 17. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF BERKS COUNTY DOCKET Docket Number: CP-06-CR-0002005-2021 Court Case CRIMINAL DOCKET Page 1 of 7 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. James C. Dixon CASE INFORMATION Judge Assigned: Lillis, James M. Date Filed: 06/16/2021 Initiation Date: 12/22/2020 OTN: U 943950-0 LOTN: Originating Docket No: MJ-23301-CR-0000187-2020 . margin-top: 1px; padding-left: 10px; .widget-img { } General: She was defeated in the general election on November 5, 2013, after receiving 25.3 percent of the vote. Before issuing their decision, the commissioners conducted a public hearing during the elections board meeting. font-weight: bold; font-weight: bold; In the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County Civil Division at No(s): 192-2015-MH BEFORE: BOWES, J., KING, J., and STEVENS, P.J . "So, it's kind of near and dear to me to come here and try to recruit the next wave,. The names of the voters who cast their ballots on election day at the machines, by mail and by provisional ballots. 13 min read. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT JUDGE JAMES M. LILLIS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, Respondent v. ALLEN LEE CABRERA, Petitioner : No. Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts, Courts in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania judicial elections Judicial selection in Pennsylvania. 4. $ } Both the Republican and Democratic committees were united in a petition to the county to extend the voting by one hour. Court Watch Review. [1] Lash was first elected to the court in 1999 and retained in 2009. Both sides had a chance Thursday to make their cases. } The petitions were filed under a little-known provision of state election law that allows a precincts results to be recounted if three voters from the precinct pay $50 and file a petition in county court saying they believe fraud or error occurred there. The commissioners discussed the matter and voted to uphold the existing state law in counting or not counting the unsigned ballots. The committee wants the county to give its attorney the names of voters who cast their ballots on the machines on Election Day, through the mail and by provisional ballot. .widget-row.value-only.black { Francis Pileggi is a partner in the firm of Lewis Brisbois, and practices primarily in the areas of corporate and commercial litigation.