Pennsylvania's 1968 Constitution invests in the state Supreme Court general supervisory and administrative authority over all of the Commonwealth's courts. The Constitution also establishes the office of Court Administrator of Pennsylvania, who is appointed by the Supreme Court and whose function is to assist the Court in assuring that the business of the courts is promptly and properly disposed.

The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania heads the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, which is also known as the Administrative Office and the AOPC, and was established in January 1969. The AOPC conducts business from offices in Philadelphia and the Harrisburg area. In addition to the court administrator's office, the departments in Philadelphia include Policy Research, Legal, and Judicial Services and Court-Related Education. The deputy court administrator's office is located in Mechanicsburg, just south of Harrisburg, and includes Communications/Legislative Affairs, Court Security, Administrative Services and Payroll. Also found in Mechanicsburg are the Finance, Human Resources, Judicial Automation and Judicial Education Departments. The Judicial Programs Department (formerly Court Management) has offices at both sites.

The Administrative Office's supervisory, administrative and long-range planning duties include:

• reviewing practices, procedures and efficiency at all levels of the court system and in all related offices
• developing recommendations to the Supreme Court regarding improvement of the system and related offices
• representing the Judicial System before legislative bodies
• examining administrative and business methods used by offices in or related to the court system
• collecting statistical data
• examining the state of the dockets and making recommendations for expediting litigation
• managing fiscal affairs, including budget preparation, disbursements approval, and goods and services procurement
• supervising all administrative matters relating to offices engaged in clerical functions
• maintaining personnel records
• conducting education programs for system personnel
• receiving and responding to comments from the public
• publishing an annual report
• providing legal services to system personnel.

Last updated 4-5-06 1201 by gle