Pa. Will Elect Judges to Statewide Courts in 2021

Pennsylvania's General Election in 2021 will be held Nov. 2 and will include some candidates for statewide judicial offices.

The state's primary will be held May 18, 2021.

Judges in Pennsylvania are elected either in retention elections or partisan elections. Pa. is the only state in the nation that holds its judicial elections solely in odd-numbered years.

Supreme Court

The term of one Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice will expire on Dec. 31, 2021.

The seat held by Justice Thomas Saylor (R) is up for partisan election in the Nov. 2, 2021, General Election.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. A full term on the court is 10 years.

Justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are elected to their seats, and replacements are appointed by the governor, subject to the approval of the Pennsylvania State Senate, in the case of midterm vacancies.

The current Pa. Supreme Court justices are:

• Thomas Saylor – Sworn in as chief justice in 2015; elected to the court in 1997

• Max Baer – Elected in 2003

• Christine Donohue – Elected in 2015

• Kevin M. Dougherty – Elected in 2015

• Sallie Mundy – Appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2016

■ Debra Todd – Elected in 2007

• David N. Wecht – Elected in 2015

Other statewide courts

Pennsylvania will also elect judges to intermediate appellate courts in 2021.

The terms of four Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and two Pennsylvania Superior Court judges will expire on January 3, 2022. Additionally, one seat on the Pennsylvania Superior Court is vacant.

Commonwealth Court judges Anne Covey, Mary Hannah Leavitt, and Renee Cohn Jubelirer and Superior Court judges John Bender and Mary Jane Bowes must stand for retention election on Nov. 2, 2021, in order to remain on the bench. The filing deadline for judges seeking retention was January 4, 2021.

Two seats are up for partisan election on Nov. 2, 2021. One seat is on the Pennsylvania Superior Court and is vacant; the other seat is on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and is held by Judge Andrew Crompton heading into the election.

A primary is scheduled for both seats on May 18, 2021. The filing deadline for regular election candidates is March 9, 2021.

A full term on both courts is 10 years.

Recommendations

The Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission (PBA JEC) recently released its final round of ratings of potential judicial candidates seeking election to the state's appellate courts.

In the 2021 election, voters will be filling one seat on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, one seat on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and two seats on the Commonwealth Court.

Kimberly D. Moses of Allegheny County, chair of the PBA JEC, said, "Our commission's goal is to provide information to assist voters in choosing candidates best suited to serve as fair, impartial and knowledgeable jurists on Pennsylvania's highest courts.

"Our commission only recommends candidates it finds to have the legal ability, experience, integrity and temperament needed to provide satisfactory or outstanding levels of performance on the appellate courts' benches."

Each candidate requesting an evaluation by the PBA JEC is eligible to receive a rating of "Highly Recommended," "Recommended" or "Not Recommended."

These are the PBA JEC's ratings for the final round of potential candidates for open seats on the Superior Court and Commonwealth Court:

Superior Court of

Pennsylvania

Recommended

Jill L. Beck (Allegheny County)

Judge Deborah L. Canty (Philadelphia County)

Judge Timika R. Lane (Philadelphia County)

Bryan S. Neft (Allegheny County)

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Highly Recommended

Judge David L. Spurgeon (Allegheny County)

Recommended

Judge J. Andrew Crompton (Cumberland County)

Judge Lori A. Dumas (Philadelphia County)

Judge Sierra Thomas Street (Philadelphia County)

Not Recommended

Stacy Sorokes Wallace (McKean County)

* * *

These ratings for candidates to fill an open seat on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania also were issued recently.

Supreme Court of

Pennsylvania

Highly Recommended

Judge P. Kevin Brobson (Dauphin County)

Judge Maria C. McLaughlin (Philadelphia County)

Judge Carolyn H. Nichols (Philadelphia County)

Judge Paula A. Patrick (Philadelphia County)

Methodology

The PBA JEC based its ratings for each candidate on a two-part evaluation process.

Investigative panels conducted the first phase of the process, which included personal interviews with the candidates and with individuals who have had professional or personal dealings with them.

Upon completion of the investigative process, the panels submitted confidential reports to the commission.

Upon receipt and review of the investigative panel's report, the commission conducted the second phase of the evaluation process. The commission interviewed each candidate, discussed his or her qualifications and reached consensus on each candidate's rating.

All of the PBA JEC-rated potential candidates have signed the Judicial Conduct Pledge that states they and their campaigns will observe standards of conduct consistent with the integrity, impartiality and independence of the judiciary, and that they will observe those standards in their campaign advertising.

The commission includes lawyer and non-lawyer members from across the state.

Blair County attorney Joel C. serves on the PBA JEC.

Ratings definitions

Highly Recommended: The candidate possesses the highest combination of legal ability, experience, integrity and temperament and would be capable of outstanding performance as a judge or justice of the court for which he/she is a candidate.

Recommended: Based on legal ability, experience, integrity and temperament, the candidate would be able to perform satisfactorily as a judge or justice of the court for which he/she is a candidate.

Not Recommended: Based on legal ability, experience, integrity or temperament, or any combination thereof, at the present time, the candidate is inadequate to perform satisfactorily as a judge or justice of the court for which he/she is a candidate.