Title
Recognizing the Honorable Louis J. Presenza, President Judge Emeritus, on the occasion of his retirement following twenty-seven years of great intellect, compassion, and devotion to our justice system.
Body
WHEREAS, The Honorable Louis J. Presenza is a graduate of St. Joseph's University and Villanova University School of Law. He was first elected Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court in 1982 and subsequently retained to the bench in 1989, 1995, 2001 and 2007. In 1996, he was appointed the first Supervising Judge of the Court's Criminal Division where he instituted the first Treatment Court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In January 1999, he was elected President Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court by his peers, and re-elected to a second five-year term in January 2004; and
WHEREAS, During Judge Presenza's twenty-seven years on the bench, he has chaired or co-chaired a variety of panels and commissions addressing such diverse issues as preliminary arraignment, statewide automation, the destruction of firearms, pretrial release guidelines, video-conferencing, prison population management, and alternatives to incarceration. He currently serves on the City's Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, the Mayor's Task Force to End Homelessness, the Pennsylvania Adult Drug Court Advisory Committee, and the Statewide Mental Health Initiatives Task Force. Judge Presenza also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Metropolitan Courts and is Board Member Emeritus of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP); and
WHEREAS, Judge Presenza has been a panel discussant on Driving Under the Influence, Violation of the Uniform Firearms Act, and Domestic Violence. He has lectured at Continuing Legal Education seminars on Municipal Court practices and procedures, spoken at symposiums sponsored by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Office of National Drug Control Policy on methods for expeditious d...
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