Magisterial District Judge Michael Faulkner, 31-3-02, Upper Macungie Township, has again earned certification to sit on the bench serving Upper and Lower Macungie, Lowhill and Weisenberg townships and Alburtis.

As a member of Pennsylvania's Unified Judical System, Faulkner successfully completed continuing legal education course work conducted by the Minor Judiciary Education Board and the Administrative office of Pennsylvania Courts, the educational program for district judges held in Harrisburg.

The week-long program is designed to ensure magisterial district judges remain current in a variety of legal topics and management techniques required to fairly adjudicate cases and effectively supervise a district court office.

Included in this year's curriculum are updates on the vehicle code, civil law, landlord and tenant law, local ordinances, home improvement act, RV parks.

Also studied was information on commercial sexual exploitation – human trafficking, Act 112 procedures, penalties and alternative sentencing for youth and tobacco Cases, ethics, understanding criminal history for purposes for setting and amending bail, electronic monitoring and modes of bail, internal controls, restitution, expungements, out of county warrants and indirect criminal complaint warrants.

In addition, the district judges learned about criminal law updates, notarizing protocol, Home Improvement Fraud Act, case file destruction, public access, abandonment, default procedures, right to counsel in summary dispositions, bankruptcy, computer facilitated crimes, truancy updates, Judges' Concerned for Judges, sexting, cyber bullying and viral shaming.

Continuing education course work is required by statute of each of the more than 500 Pennsylvania magisterial district judges, with approximately 60 of the judges attending one of 13 such classes during each academic year.

Magisterial district judges represent the "grass roots" level of Pennsylvania's judicial system.

In counties other than Philadelphia, they have jurisdiction over summary, criminal and motor vehicle cases; landlord and tenant matters; and other civil actions where the amount claimed does not exceed $12,000.

District judges may also accept guilty pleas in misdemeanor cases of the third degree under certain circumstances. and they have jurisdiction to issue arrest and search warrants and to hold arraignments and preliminary hearings in criminal cases.