Greenleaf, whose district includes parts of Bucks and Montgomery Counties, said he would seek legislative approval for the task force to work with the Joint State Government Commission, an independent research arm of the legislature that has examined issues ranging from wrongful criminal convictions to child safety.
He said the task force, which could recommend new laws or enhanced funding for programs such as witness protection, would complement the 12-member blue-ribbon commission recently appointed by the state Supreme Court to oversee an overhaul of the courts.
The high court already has issued a series of orders that gave the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office more time to put on cases and to curb what Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille called "gamesmanship" by the defense bar. Castille, a former city district attorney, and other critics say some defense lawyers seek spurious delays to wear down victims and witnesses.
At the four-hour hearing, held at the Philadelphia Bar Association conference room in Center City, witnesses sharply disagreed about whether the criminal-justice system was indeed in crisis - or merely the target of overblown and unproven criticism.
At the session's start, State Sen. Michael J. Stack, a Democrat from Northeast Philadelphia, said he was alarmed by the newspaper's findings.
"Their research is extremely comprehensive," he said. "Their research is incredible - and incredibly disheartening."
The series analyzed court data from the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts. It also drew upon data from the U.S. Justice Department and other sources.
