Castille and Greenleaf, both Republicans, are each acting in response to an Inquirer series published in December that found the Philadelphia courts in crisis, plagued by low conviction rates, widespread witness fear, a massive fugitive problem, and the dismissal of thousands of cases yearly with no decision on their merits.
Castille, with fellow Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, moved first. In March, they named a 12-member panel of judges, lawyers, and other experts to do a comprehensive review of the city's criminal justice system and then fix problems outlined in the series.
On Thursday, the chief justice said a Senate inquiry would duplicate the work of the high court panel.
"We don't need people running around interviewing judges, interviewing court workers," he said of the proposed Senate investigation. "We are already addressing it. We are already changing things."
Castille's remarks came the day after Greenleaf and a bipartisan group of eight fellow senators proposed to create a Senate advisory panel to investigate the city courts and recommend improvements.
Greenleaf, who represents parts of Bucks and Montgomery Counties, introduced a resolution to create the panel after his committee conducted a hearing last month on problems in the Philadelphia courts. His proposal must be ratified by a Senate majority.
Castille said he would call Greenleaf to urge him to cancel his push for a legislative investigation and, if he declined, would lobby top Senate Republicans to defeat the plan.
Should Greenleaf win Senate approval and proceed, Castille said, "he'll need cooperation from the judicial branch, which we aren't prepared to give at this time."
