The state Supreme Court has handed down "tough new rules" governing the handling of cases in Philadelphia's Municipal Court, the Inquirer reports today (April 4). One is a requirement that judges work a full day. Under the current system, all the defendants, witnesses, lawyers and police may be present for a preliminary hearing, but it is held over, marked "Ready - Not Reached." That means the judget has a decided not to hear the case and instead ends the court day.. Under the new rules, if everyone is present and ready, the case must be heard. The back story here is that Municipal Court judges do not always work an eight-hour day. If they start court and 9 a.m. and step through their case list quickly, they can be done at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. and, in the words of one judge who was a critic of the practice "be at the first tee by 3 p.m."