photo By BARB BARRETT/The Luminary Jon E. Kemp, Magisterial District Judge for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and District Court 29-3-03 moved into his new office in Muncy Creek Township on Dec. 18.

MUNCY – A new office and a new location keeps Magisterial District Judge Jon Kemp happy at his job. On December 18 he moved from 46 S. Main Street to 2134 Rt. 405 Highway in Muncy Creek Township.

The 3500 square foot building that rests on county owned property not only doubled in size for the district judge and his staff of three others, but was also designed for safety concerns. “We had no privacy before,” Judge Kemp said. “We used the bottom of a stairway or had to find a separate room somewhere.” Now there is designated space for the victim and space on the other side of the court room for the defender. “The layout of this building has been a positive impact,” he replied. “Now there is a separation between defendants and witnesses.”

There is an open court room in the center with the separate quarters that include private rooms for the attorneys on either side. “This is so important when we have sexual assault cases,” pointed out Kemp who took this into consideration as the interior design was being planned.

He is busy. He handles between three and four thousand cases a year; many are traffic summaries, landlord and tenant disputes, civil matters and criminal cases.

This is Kemp’s fourth year serving his term for District Court 29-3-03. He said he has two more years to serve and then he plans on running again. “I love what I am doing,” said the Hughesville native.