Upper Merion Area Spotlight identified 91 new filings in the two Magisterial District Courts covering Upper Merion Township and Bridgeport Borough during the Aug. 31-Sept. 6 reporting period.

That marks the fourth consecutive week in which the total number of filings has increased since Spotlight began its weekly court review.

The totals have moved from 76 filings Aug. 10-16, to 82, then 87, and now 91.

But the composition of those filings has changed considerably from week to week.

This week's 91 cases included:

The largest changes were found in the criminal and non-traffic categories.

Twenty-two criminal cases were filed during the latest reporting period, up from 11 during Aug. 24-30.

Ten of the 22 criminal dockets included DUI charges, meaning nearly half of this week's criminal filings involved alleged impaired driving.

Other criminal filings included cases involving retail theft, receiving stolen property, simple assault, drug possession, theft and other charges.

One filing included terroristic threats, simple assault, harassment and theft charges. Another involved felony retail theft and two counts of possession of an instrument of crime.

Those cases remain allegations, and the filing of criminal charges does not establish guilt.

Non-traffic filings increased even more sharply, rising from 12 the previous week to 32.

That increase, however, does not appear to represent a sudden rise in traditional police-related offenses.

At least 22 of the 32 non-traffic cases involved municipal property or code enforcement matters, driven largely by Bridgeport Borough code-enforcement filings.

Those included:

Additional non-traffic filings included an employer withholding-tax case and a county health-code matter.

The concentration of code cases is an important distinction when looking at the overall number. Non-traffic dockets can include a wide range of matters and should not automatically be interpreted as criminal activity.

Landlord-tenant cases continued to decline after the unusually large group of filings seen several weeks ago.

Spotlight has recorded:

The five latest landlord-tenant cases were filed in Magisterial District Court 38-1-09.

Two involved The George Apartments, two involved The Smith Valley Forge and one involved Gulph Mills Village Apartments.

The combined amounts sought in the five cases totaled approximately $15,752.

Those amounts represent claims made in court filings. They should not be interpreted as judgments or as a definitive measure of unpaid rent.

Spotlight's weekly court review is still relatively new, but four consecutive weeks of data are beginning to illustrate why looking beyond the overall filing count matters.

Traffic filings have ranged from 25 to 45 per week.

Landlord-tenant filings briefly surged to 37 before declining to five.

And this week, the largest categories were shaped by two very different developments: an increase in criminal filings, including 10 DUI cases, and a concentrated group of municipal code-enforcement cases.

The Spotlight will continue reviewing newly filed cases each week in Magisterial District Courts 38-1-09 and 38-1-25.

Court docket sheets provide an initial view of a case but often contain limited information about the underlying circumstances. Spotlight is reviewing several of this week's criminal filings to determine whether additional court records provide enough information for separate reporting.

Criminal charges are allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

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Thank you for reading,

Corey