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Vol. 76 No. 49 December 8, 1976,
Donegal School Board President, Dale Arnold
Dale Arnold elected
School Board pres.
Dale Arnold replaced Dr.
William Landis as presi-
dent of the Donegal School
Board at last week’s reor-
ganization meeting. Lewis
Bixler was named vice-
president.
After his election, Mr.
Arnold told a reporter,
‘““We have two important
jobs. One, of course, is
education. The other is
communication with every-
body — our staff, the
parents, and the public.
That’s really what the
game is all about.”’
“People know it takes a
certain amount of money to
run a school district,” Mr.
Arnold said. ‘“The impor-
tant thing is to see that the
money gets spent in the
best possible way.”
Mr. Arnold lives in May-
town with his wife, Loretta.
They have 3 daughters:
Mrs. Terry Herr, of May-
town; Mrs. Sharon Hess, of
E-Town R.D; and Bonnie,
at home.
False alarm problem
solved in Mount Joy
Friendship Fire Co. No.
1, of Mount Joy hopes all
its problems are over with
the various industries tied
into the American District
Telegraph (ADT) alarm box
at the fire station. The
numerous false alarms had
continued through the early
part of last week due to
malfunctioning equipment.
Wednesday, December
1st, ADT workmen replac-
ed all the wires and 2 tele-
phone lines. However, 2
more false alarms sounded
during the night.
Thursday, repairmen
were back and worked
through Friday morning on
the alarm panel at the fire
station.
The alarm systems are
now back in full service.
Friendship Fire Co.,
offers their apologies to the
residents who were dis-
turbed by the false alarms.
UEHANNA =
Susquehanna Times & The Mount Joy Bulletin
MARIETTA & MOUNT JOY, PA.
District Justice Raymond Knorr
presides over a changing local court
‘‘Boy, are you guys
making a lot of money,” a
defendant recently told Dis-
trict Judge Raymond
Knorr.
Many of the people who
pass through Justice
Knorr’s new courtroom on
Donegal Springs Road
think the court costs they
pay go into the judge's
pocket. That has not been
true since 1968.
Pennsylvania’s legal sys-
tem has changed a lot since
Ray Knorr was elected
Justice of the Peace of
Mount Joy Borough back in
1951. In those days, being
JP was a part-time job, and
the only. important job
qualification was the ability
to win an election.
The judge was paid the
court costs imposed on
guilty defendants. If the
defendant was innocent,
the judge didn’t get paid.
Today, a district judge is a
salaried employee of the
state. Mandatory atten-
dance at law courses and
seminars is required.
About three years ago,
Justice Knorr decided that
he needed even more legal
training than the law re-
quired. He enrolled in a
course at Penn State. Two
weeks ago he got a de-
gree in ‘‘human develop-
ment with emphasis in ad-
ministration of justice.”
This year, the Supreme
Court ruled that district
judges must wear black
robes in court. After years
of conducting court in a
business suit, Justice
Knorr says, ‘‘Frankly, 1
feel uncomfortable in the
robes.”
The changes underline
the importance of the dis-
trict justices’
out of five PA court cases
begin in the local district
justice courts. Anyone sus-
pected of committing a
crime in the Donegal Dis-
trict is arraigned in Justice
Knorr’s court.
“We're the only contact
the bulk of the public has
with the court system,” he
points out.
When police apprehend a
suspect, Justice Knorr
must set bail and make
sure the defendant is aware
of his rights.
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Defendants are required
to post bail money as a
guarantee that they will
appear at the trail. Before
he can decide how high
bail should be set, Justice
Knorr must investigate the
defendant’s home and em-
ployment history.
During the investigation,
it often becomes apparent
that the defendant’s legal
problems grew out of a
physical, emotional, or
educational handicap.
‘‘Sometimes we find the
keys to the problem,” the
judge says.
In his office, Justice
Knorr keeps a directory
of community services in
Lancaster County. Often,
with the cooperation of the
D.A. and public defender,
help for the defendant can
be arranged. The court
often arranges to help a
young man learn a trade,
visit a mental health clinic,
or earn a diploma.
Anyone charged with a
summary violation in Don-
egal District is tried in
Justice Knorr’s court.
(Summary violations in-
clude borough ordinance
violations, underage drink-
ing and disorderly con-
duct.) The maximum sen-
tence is $300 and 90 days
in jail. The court also has
full jurisdiction over motor
vehicle code violations and
small claims cases.
When someone is charg-
ed with a more serious
crime (a misdemeanor or
District Judge Raymond Knorr
felony), Justice Knorr
handles the preliminaries,
but the case is tried in
Common Pleas Court.
Those preliminaries include
everything from filing the
charges to establishing a
prima facie case.
With a few exceptions
like murder cases, the local
judge also sets bail. To
handle these heavy respon-
sibilities, he needs more
than a thorough knowledge
of the law: he must also be
a good judge of people.
“You can’t pre-judge any
case.” Raymond Knorr
says. ‘‘You have to under-
stand that either the de-
fendant or the prosecuting
officer may be wrong, and
you must have the courage
to tell the officer when he
is wrong.”’
“You can’t treat things
in blanket catagories,’”’ he
continues. ‘‘You must con-
sider individual cases.”
At the same time, a
Court costs
Under a new law, victims
of violent crimes can be
paid up to $25,000 by the
state. The money comes
from an additional $10
court cost levied on anyone
who breaks a state law.
(Motor vehicle violations
are an exception.)
That means higher court
costs for anyone who
pleads guilty, pleads solo
contendere, or is convicted.
judge must keep his per-
sonal feelings and pro-
fessional duties separate.
“I don’t have to sanction a
person’s actions to respect
him,”’ Justice Knorr says.
Respect for both people
and the law seems to be
the keynote of Raymond
Knorr’s judicial style. He
tries to avoid a sanctimon-
ius, condemning tone in his
statements from the bench.
‘“Nobody is perfect,” he
says.
Raymond Knorr didn’t
grow up in this area, but
his wife, Mary, is a native
of Mount Joy. He met her
in Philadelphia, where she
was studying nursing. He
was attending the Univer-
sity of PA.
The young couple moved
here in 1947. Raymond ran
a furniture and appliance
business until 1960, when
he lost his leg in an
accident. After that, he
[continued on page 2]
go up
For a summary offense,
like underage drinking,
court costs now total $26. A
misdemeanor costs at least
$30, and a felony costs at
least $35. Court costs are
charged even if there is no
fine.
Contrary to what many
people think, our local dis-
trict justice doesn’t get to
keep the money. (See
Story)