Civil Court
Jefferson County Pennsylvania

Calendar

Civil matters include every type of legal action except criminal. The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure govern the broad category of actions known as civil actions. The parties to a suit are known as plaintiff, the person bringing suit, and defendant, the person being sued. The plaintiff must prove his/her case before a judge or jury by presenting evidence that is more conclusive than the Defendant's. The courts of Jefferson County schedule jury selection the second Monday of each month except August and December. Both civil and criminal cases ready for a jury trial are selected on that day. A trial may be held by a judge without a jury's involvement. In this instance, the judge hears all of the testimony of witnesses and attorneys' arguments and determines the outcome of the case based upon established law. These non-jury civil cases are scheduled as needed. Also, each month a day is set aside to hear all juvenile delinquency matters, juvenile dependency matters, and summary appeal cases.