Going to court can be trouble enough, but Judge Matthew Brungo is trying to make the process a little bit easier by offering a day with extended hours in his North Hills-based courtroom.
A court order of the Common Pleas of Allegheny County on March 6 enabled Brungo’s Magisterial District Court 05-2-12 to begin hearing cases until 6 p.m. every third Monday, beginning May 18.
The court’s regular office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
“We haven’t had (an evening) court in the town of McCandless, Pine, Marshall and Bradford Woods for quite a while. I’m just trying to make court more accessible, whether there’s a family obligation or work and someone’s not able to make (an earlier) time,” Brungo said.
Magisterial District Court 05-2-12 covers Bradford Woods, McCandless, Marshall and Pine. The court is located on the second floor of 9500 Brooktree Road in Pine.
Brungo said the extended hours also could be helpful to students in school who may be addressing a traffic citation, for example.
“We put it there. If someone has a problem, we have a place for them,” Brungo said.
The phone number for Brungo’s court is 412-366-2221.
Magisterial District Courts are community-based judicial systems addressing cases such as traffic citations, nontraffic citations, civil matters, criminal matters and more, according to alleghenycourts.us.
The website notes there are 46 magisterial district courts within the Fifth Judicial District of Allegheny County.