"The senator assured me that it's not going to duplicate what we're already doing and it's not going to interfere," said Castille, a former Philadelphia district attorney.
Both inquiries were triggered by an Inquirer series that depicted a court system beset by low conviction rates, rampant witness fear, and the dismissal of thousands of cases each year without any decision on the merits. The series also explored how tens of thousands of defendants have skipped court, flouting the system's bail system.
"All I want in Pennsylvania is to have justice in the courtroom," said Greenleaf, a Republican who represents parts of Bucks and Montgomery Counties. Given the problems in Philadelphia's court system, he said, it was appropriate for the legislature to to do its own review.
"I'm the chairman of the Judiciary Committee," he said. "I'm going to sit on my hands and watch this go by without doing anything?"
Castille and Greenleaf said the Senate panel would focus, at least initially, on witness intimidation and the dysfunctional bail system.
After initially vowing he'd order judges and court personnel not to cooperate with the Senate inquiry, Castille, like Greenleaf a Republican, said the courts would "work cooperatively" with senators.
In an interview, Castille stopped short of giving Greenleaf unfettered access to judges and court administrators. He said he had asked the senator to check with him before reaching out to court staff.
Greenleaf said Wednesday that he was pleased with Castille's change of heart.
"We worked it out," he said in an interview. "He said he would cooperate with our review."
Castille, working with Justice Seamus McCaffery, formed a panel of 12 experts in March to address the Inquirer's findings and recommend solutions.
