Philly judges, feeling unsafe, order Sheriff Rochelle Bilal to fix ‘systemic failures’ in courthouse security

Philadelphia’s judges say they don’t feel safe in their own courtrooms as a result of security failures under Sheriff Rochelle Bilal — and they have ordered her to fix them within three months.

An Inquirer report in September revealed that a shortage of sheriff’s deputies had jeopardized order in the courts, with incidents like assaults and threats nearly tripling since 2019, the year before Bilal took office. The shortage has also caused delays and postponements of criminal proceedings because inmates are not being transported from holding cells to courtrooms.

Monday, in a rare move, the Administrative Governing Board of the First Judicial District, a panel of judges that oversees Philadelphia court operations, filed a court order demanding that Bilal resolve the problem within 90 days.

“The proper administration of justice in the Courts of the First Judicial District has been — and will continue to be — threatened due to the Philadelphia Sheriff Office’s systemic failures to properly staff courtrooms and court facilities,” the order states, adding that “the Sheriff of Philadelphia has failed in her responsibility to timely transport incarcerated defendants between the holding rooms and courtrooms.”

The lapses in security pose an “imminent threat to the safety and health of all persons present in the courthouses,” the order states, adding that lengthy delays due to stalled prisoner transport is burdening lawyers, jurors, and witnesses who appear for criminal proceedings.

The judges said they had repeatedly sought to resolve these operational issues with Bilal and her staff “to no avail,” according to the order.

They’re now directing Bilal to submit within 30 days a corrective action plan detailing how she will address prisoner transportation problems; ensure that at least one deputy is present in every criminal, family, and traffic courtroom; and add additional security to less-sensitive court facilities.

» READ MORE: ‘Disaster waiting to happen’: Courthouse security incidents, trial delays have soared under Sheriff Rochelle Bilal

The order is signed by Common Pleas Court President Judge Nina Wright Padilla, Municipal Court President Judge T. Francis Shields, and four administrative judges — Daniel J. Anders, Joffie C. Pittman III, Margaret T. Murphy, and Sheila Woods-Skipper.

It does not outline specific penalties for failing to abide by the terms of the order.

This year in Dauphin County, an elected court clerk accused of mismanaging her office was given a similar court-imposed deadline for corrective action. She ultimately resigned from office rather than face a contempt hearing, prompting the state Supreme Court to declare a “judicial emergency” and appoint a replacement.

Over the summer, state Rep. Jared Solomon (D., Philadelphia) wrote to Wright Padilla, asking her to investigate the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office and take corrective action — and consider holding Bilal in contempt if she doesn’t comply. Solomon’s tactic appeared to be modeled after what transpired in Dauphin County.

A court administrator on Monday sent a copy of the order to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Council President Kenyatta Johnson, along with a letter explaining the decision. Parker and Johnson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did Bilal.

Solomon thanked the court for “taking this first step in making sure that our citizens are safe.”

“This is the court stepping in and saying, look, when our institutions are not working, we need to make sure they’re held accountable,” Solomon said, referring to the sheriff’s office.

Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Jen Coatsworth issued a statement Monday afternoon in support of the court order. She called on the sheriff’s office, the mayor’s office, City Council, and the First Judicial District to work together to address the problem.

“This disturbing rise in [security] incidents not only creates a safety risk, but also make it challenging for the courts to ensure that cases are heard in a timely manner and that litigants in already stressful situations do not experience additional trauma related to a lack of security,” Coatsworth said.

The Inquirer has reported that security incidents inside city court facilities have increased rapidly under Bilal. This year, they are on track to exceed more than 80 incidents, up from 25 in 2019, the year before Bilal took office.

“It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” one judge told the newspaper.

Judges blame the problems on the declining presence of deputies in courtrooms and common areas. In past years, each criminal courtroom was assigned a deputy. But the sheriff’s office has estimated that it has less than half of the staff needed to fully secure the city’s Criminal Justice Center.

That shortage has led to delays during critical moments in trials, such as sentencings, as court staff wait for Bilal’s office to provide a deputy.

“The emotional cost to victims’ and defendants’ families waiting for hours for their opportunities to give victim impact testimony or address the court is unquantifiable,” Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara McDermott said in a statement in September.

Public defenders say inmates are waiting for hours in justice center basement holding cells and, in some cases, end up being driven back to prison because a deputy failed to escort them into the courtroom.

“It’s shocking and disappointing,” Benjamin Jaye, assistant chief of the Municipal Court trials department at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, said in September. “The liberty of our clients is at stake and in jeopardy because there simply aren’t enough deputies.”

Prosecutors in District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office have also been frustrated with the delays. Some cases are being postponed. They typically get weaker over time.

“My ADAs are coming back and saying all these cases got rolled because we can’t get a sheriff,” Eleni Belisonzi, chief of the Municipal Court unit in the district attorney’s office, said in September. She said she had noticed a “huge” increase in delayed cases over the summer.

Bilal, in City Council budget hearings this year, said her office had been unable to increase staff because of the national shortage in sworn law enforcement officers. (Additionally, the Philadelphia Police Department is short nearly 1,300 officers.)

The sheriff has argued that she is kneecapped by lower pay rates than the police department and procedural obstacles that make hiring more difficult: The closest training academy for sheriff’s deputies is more than three hours away, in State College, Pa.

But Bilal’s office has also been dogged by dysfunction and questionable budgetary decisions.

In 2022, after Bilal sought and received additional money from the city for hires, her administration instead used some of the funds to give raises to non-uniformed executive staff, according to an internal memo. The office also initially attempted to double Bilal’s own salary as part of that funding shift. That is prohibited by the City Charter.

The office now has dozens of deputy positions that are funded but not filled, ending the last fiscal year with a $1 million payroll surplus due to unfilled jobs, according to a spokesperson for the city.

The sheriff’s other key function — auctioning foreclosed real estate — has also been plagued by problems since Bilal took office in 2020.

Sales of tax-delinquent properties had been on hold for more than three years because of a contract dispute. During that time, the city and school district were unable to collect $35 million in delinquent taxes.

Those auctions resumed over the summer, but the office is now failing to promptly finalize the sales, leaving buyers waiting up to a year to receive property deeds. Several buyes have petitioned the court to try to obtain deeds. One lawyer recently notified the city that he intends to depose Bilal if he can’t get answers about why the system isn’t working.

“I feel like I’ve been robbed,” one buyer who has been waiting for a deed since March told The Inquirer last month.

Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s Office has been collecting millions of dollars in service fees — but not turning the money over to the city, as required by the City Charter. That public money has been used for a range of discretionary expenditures with little oversight, from ammunition and other supplies, to disc jockeys and even a $9,250 office mascot.