Hatboro, Horsham Township Courts Consolidating

HATBORO / HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —The two courts in Hatboro and Horsham Township will be consolidated into one at the start of the new year, Montgomery County officials said.

Matthew Honeyman, facilities manager of special courts for Montgomery County's District Justice Administration, confirmed the consolidation of the Hatboro and Horsham courts to Patch, saying it's part of a county magisterial district realignment that eliminates the Hatboro court.

"This is happening," Honeyman said, adding that Montgomery County reviews its court system every 10 years.

Honeyman said that while no official word has gone out from Montgomery County, the realignment plan has been posted on the county's website.

Montgomery County Deputy Court Administrator John Savoth had sent a Magisterial District Re-establishment Plan to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts in Philadelphia.

The plan states that Montgomery County has 30 Magisterial Districts while others such as Bucks, Delaware, Chester, and Lancaster counties average 21 districts.

The plan calls for boundary realignment of 12 districts while 17 others remain the same with one the Hatboro court being eliminated.

"This proposed change will create a more equitable balance between this court and adjacent districts," the county said in the realignment plan.

"The Borough of Hatboro has not been notified of the closure," Borough Manager Diane Hegele told Patch Thursday.

She said that the borough leases to Montgomery County the court space at 420 S. York Road in Victorian Village, which the borough owns.

"Since we have not been notified of the closure, there is no comment at this time as to what we will be doing with that space should they (the county) vacate," Hegele said.

With the upcoming retirement of Hatboro Magisterial District Justice Paul Leo and the term expiration of Horsham Township Magisterial District Justice Harry J. Nesbitt at the end of the year, the court will also have a new judge.

It is unknown what will happen to the Horsham Township court location at 903 Sheehy Dr.

Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker was unavailable for comment Thursday.

The realignment plan states that over a six-year period from 2014 to 2019, the courts handled an average annual caseload of 3,664 cases and an average workload of 19,596 with future caseload and workload expected to be about 5,524 and 30,904 cases respectively.