By Garrett Blanchet, State Committee

1

JUDICIAL CANDIDATE PRIMARY ELECTION NEWS

FOR TUESDAY 5/16/2017

Prepared February 11, 2017

By Garrett Blanchet, State Committee

This Newsletter was written after the democratic state committee meeting of February 10 and 11; it consists of 4 portions:

1. A short version of your state reps recommendations for who to vote for among the judicial appointees coming up for a vote in May
2. A long version describing why we make these suggestions, basic info on the candidates, relevant web sites and why not to write in republicans
3. A short summary of the Pennsylvania court system: who current judges are, what the different courts do, and what the party representation on the courts is now.
4. The 2017 Pennsylvania election schedule

THE SHORT VERSION: we suggest you vote

For Supreme Court- (1 vacancy) :

• Dwayne Woodruff as a new candidate
• Debra Todd is also endorsed by the party for retention (and who will be in line to become the Chief Justice if retained)

For Superior Court: (4 vacancies)

• Geoffrey Moulton
• Carolyn Nichols
• Marie McLaughlin
• Debra Kunselman

For Commonwealth Court–(2 vacancies):

• Todd Egan
• Joseph Cosgrove

This year there are no vacancies on the Franklin County bench

Ref:

THE LONG VERSION:

The ballot for the Primary this May will include candidates running for the Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth courts. Your representatives to the democratic state committee Sherri Morgan, Garrett Blanchet and Trish Cordell, attended meetings of the democratic parties Rural caucus on January 7 in Harrisburg, and the State Committee’s meeting on February 10& 11 for the purpose of listening to the candidates running for statewide places on the bench. We were able to hear presentations and Q&A sessions for 14 of the candidates. Others may be running but we did not hear from them.

As background, remember that the state Judiciary is divided into 5 tiers:

• The Supreme court with 7 members, 2R/ 5Dems,
• The Superior court with 15 members, 7R/ 7Dems (1 vacant)
• The Commonwealth court with 9 members, 6R/ 3Dems

15 R/ 15 D

• Court of Common Pleas (the level we see operate here in The county courthouse.)
• Minor Courts

In 2017, 1 seat is now available on the supreme court, 4on superior court, 2 on the commonwealth court.

[see the more detailed discussion below for when the next seats come up for election, who’s on the bench now, and what party they’re from.]

We saw 2 democratic candidates for supreme court, 5 candidates for superior court and 7 for commonwealth court.

As you can see from the party split noted above, major gains were made in the elections 2 years ago, and as a result of Governor Wolf’s appointments. The numbers above include 9 new democrats since 2015. The courts are an area where Republicans had gained overwhelming dominance in recent years, though the balance has been changing. Worthy of special note is that the supreme court in 2020, the date of the next census, will have the controlling vote on the redistricting of the legislative map. Remember the gerrymandering forced on democrats in 2010 by the Republican legislature was directly affected by the Republican majority supreme court. That is no longer the case. Recall also that judges elected to lower courts are usually the ones chosen to run for higher courts. Federal courts and the Supreme court draw their members from state courts.

A summary of the candidates who made presentations and answered our questions follows.

FOR SUPREME COURT: 1 vacancy

• Dwayne Woodruff
• Is currently a sitting justice for the Philadelphia court of common pleas and has served there for the last 12 years. He has extensive experience in the family court.
• Is an African American (he could become the only African American to sit on the supreme court, and the first in decades)
• We found his description of his own personal choices and the career paths of his children impressive. He cared for his own quadriplegic father, his daughter is an OB-GYN while his son is both an attorney and a captain in the USMC. This is a family imbued with a sense of service to family and country.
• rated by the bar association as “recommended”
• He also put himself through law school while he was the captain of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He does not now have an official website, but does have a page on facebook under : Judge Dwayne D. Woodruff

Debra Todd – She has now served on the supreme court for the last 10 years and is therefore now running for retention. Assuming retention, and she is universally highly regarded, she will be in line to be the next chief justice. She will be the first woman to be so honored. This position comes to the longest serving justice on the court.

Both Judge Todd and Judge Woodruff were endorsed by the state party by virtue of receiving over 2/3rds of the 315 votes cast by state committee members.

FOR SUPERIOR COURT - 4 vacancies for a bench holding 15

The state party endorses: Geoffrey Moulton, Maria McLaughlin, Carolyn Nichols and Debra Kunzelman. We feel these are all good, strong choices.

• Geoffrey Moulton
• Currently a sitting judge on the court after being appointed by Gov Wolf this summer
• 58yo from Montgomery County
• His wife is a teacher and member of PSCEA. 2 daughters
• 8y a federal prosecutor in SE PA
• worked on the AHA; investigated the mortgage crisis, reviewed the criminal investigation of Sandusky
• “Highly recommended” by the bar association
• We found him very impressive, articulate and proud to be a “so called judge.” His experience is entirely appropriate for this court, and his values seemed main stream democratic.

ballotpedia.org/H._Geoffrey_Moulton_Jr.

• Maria McLaughlin
• Now a judge in the court of common pleas in Philadelphia
• 1st elected in 2011
• none of her decisions have been overturned
• 25 years legal experience, 19 in the DA’s office, 10 years chief DA in Phila
• Sensitive to LGBT rights and very aware of the difficulties in immigration law created recently as they effect custody of children

ballotpedia.org/Maria_McLaughlin

• Carolyn Nichols
• Currently a Judge for the court of common pleas in the criminal division in Philadelphia; elected in 2011
• Native Philadelphian and a graduate of temple law school
• “recommended” by the state bar association
• Previously she had a 20y private legal practice that worked particularly with civil rights cases and minority owned businesses
• We found her to be most articulate, and a clear advocate for equal justice for all. She is a strong defender of women’s rights, and is very aware and experienced in the impartial evaluation of the very difficult choices to be made in family courts.
• Deborah Kunselman
• Now a judge in the family law division of the court of common pleas, elected in 2005in Beaver County
• “highly recommended” by the state Bar association
• a graduate of Penn State and the Notre Dame school of law
• She raised the issue of the importance of transparency while maintain privacy for the individuals involved, and was clearly sensitive to the great delicacy in reaching decisions within the family court especially in the context of juvenile dependency cases.

• Bill Caye
• Attorney from Pittsburgh and has been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney.
• He was “not recommended” by the Bar association and apparently enthusiastically so. This is highly unusual and speaks for itself.
• In his presentation in January, he made many claims for himself with no substantiation. We were not impressed.

• Lillian Ransom and Sarah Farley
• were not present at either conference. We are not sure if either are still in the race at all. They did not seek endorsement or leave any literature., though Lillian Ransom is now a sitting Superior court judge

FOR COMMONWEALTH COURT - 2 vacancies on a bench of 7

In this group the state party was able to endorse Todd Egan but split between Joseph Cosgrove and Ellen Ceisler, 185 to 135 respectively.

• Todd Egan
• Now is a practicing attorney representing organized labor & labor law in Scranton and is from Lackawanna county
• Penn State – Dickinson Law school
• 52yo, Married with 2 daughters: 12 and 13
• Rated by the bar association as “recommended”
• Opposed to the effort before the commonwealth court to let the NRA sue municipalities over gun laws
• He expects primary race will cost $300,000; more for the general
• He strongly supports malpractice laws as they exist.
• Strong advocate for equal education for all kids
• Opposed to governmental intervention in the healthcare of his daughters

• Joseph Cosgrove
• Currently a judge on the Commonwealth court for the last 7 months, appointed by the governor
• From Luzerne County, grew up in Pittston, 60yo
• “highly recommended” by the PA Bar Association
• Graduated from Notre Dame where he also obtained a law degree and a masters in theology, later also earning a masters in studio art.
• Previously he had been sitting as a judge on the court of common pleas for 2years, having been appointed by governor Rendell
• He played a major role in cleaning up the “kids for cash” scandal which resulted in the conviction of 2 justices sending kids to prison inappropriately. He also created the Luzerne county Mortgage Mediation Court
• He has also been an adjunct professor of constitutional law, and President of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
• We found him highly articulate and assured us he would “do nothing to erode our rights”

• Ellen Ceisler
• She is currently a judge in the court of common pleas, now with 10 y experience
• 59, 2 kids 1 an attorney in the army, the other a 3rd yr college student
• Abandoned by her father and raised by her mother while doing minimum wage jobs
• Put herself through 1st an AA program, then a BA at Temple and finally law school
• She has been a prosecutor, Director of the Integrity and Accountability Office for the Philadelphia police dept., investigated corruption, and a CBS investigative producer, Director of Special Investigations for the City Controller’s Office.

• Brian Barbin
• Now a Representative for Johnstown, Cambria County in his 5th term
• 59 yo
• States he thinks we “need someone who will tell us what the truth is”…..
• Said to be “prolife”
• Rated as “recommended” by the bar
• (no web site found)
• Tim Barry
• Attorney for the last 37 years, now 65
• Graduate of the U of Pittsburgh, and the U of Pittsburgh law school
• Practice has been primarily in municipal law, labor relations and has represented public employees
• He reported that he had been an attorney for cyber charter schools
• “Highly recommended” by the Allegheny Bar
• Has been active in the Act 47 process of helping municipalities in distress: including Scranton & Harrisburg
• Clearly experienced, he did not seem to us to be able to articulate any particular philosophical legal persuasion

• Irene Clark
• Pittsburgh Municipal court Judge acting as the housing court judge for 10 years up until 2003, working in code adjudication, and on blighted real estate cases. An attorney since then she specializes in helping municipalities and organizations revitalize blighted areas
• Graduate of the Wharton school and CUNY law school
• 54yo
• As an Attorney represented injured workers
• She was “not recommended “ by the Bar association because her experience was not felt adequate in the areas the court will be responsible for covering.

A general discussion of the legal qualifications from the point of view of the Pennsylvania Bar can be found in their press release at

We suggest you do not write in the names of republicans entered in races for the row offices (clerk of courts, prothonotary, Coroner etc.) now and in the future because if they get 200 democratic votes they can cross file in the general election, and no actual democrat will be on the ballot. If they don’t get 200, the county party can put a true democratic candidate of our choosing on the democratic line on the ballot. This year, the only such office which is coming up for a vote is for county Treasurer. If you know a democrat who is interested in running for Treasurer, we would very much like to hear about them.

A REVIEW OF THE PENNSYLVANIA COURT SYSTEM, THEIR ROLES , CURRENT OFFICE HOLDERS, AND SITTING JUDGES PARTIES AND TERMS

Supreme Court

OVERVIEW

Dating to 1684, the Supreme Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth and the oldest appellate court in the nation. The Supreme Court’s administrative powers and jurisdictional responsibilities are vested with the seven-member court by the Pennsylvania State Constitution and a collection of statutes known as the Judicial Code. Administratively, the courts within the Unified Judicial System are largely responsible for organizing their own staff and dockets; however, the Supreme Court has several committees and boards responsible for writing and enforcing rules for judges, attorneys, and litigants to ensure an efficient and fair judicial review.Annually, the seven justices receive over 3,000 requests for appellate review.

MOST OFTEN, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, THE COURT REVIEWS:

• Requests for discretionary appeals from the Commonwealth Court and Superior Court.
• Direct Appeals from a lower court’s decision, including when a sentence of death is issued.
• Requests to intervene in a lower court’s proceedings.
• Requests to deliver a body from illegal detention

Candidates say that this court will hear the cases on fracking and voter rights that come up. Constitutionally the 5 members of the committee that decides on redistricting after the census is composed of the democratic and republican leaders of the state house, the fifth person- the tie breaker- is chosen by the supreme court.

Appeals do not have to be accepted by the supreme court

• Up for retention

Source of tables:

Superior Court -15 judges – 7R/ 7D

OVERVIEW

The Superior Court was established in 1895. It is one of Pennsylvania's two statewide intermediate appellate courts. The Superior Court is often the final arbiter of legal disputes. The Supreme Court may grant a petition to review a decision of the Superior Court, but most petitions are denied and the ruling of the Superior Court stands. Cases are usually heard by panels of three judges sitting in Philadelphia, Harrisburg or Pittsburgh, but may also be heard en banc by nine judges. The Superior Court often travels to locations throughout Pennsylvania to hear cases.

RESPONSIBLE FOR

Appeals in criminal and most civil cases from the Courts of Common Pleas

Appeals on matters involving children and families

Appeals to the superior court must be accepted, this is not the same as it is in the supreme court which doesn’t have to.

• = up for retention

Commonwealth Court: - 9 judges - 6R/3D

The Commonwealth Court was established in 1968 and is unique to Pennsylvania. It is one of Pennsylvania's two statewide intermediate appellate courts. The Commonwealth Court is primarily responsible for matters involving state and local governments and regulatory agencies. It also acts as a trial court when lawsuits are filed by or against the Commonwealth. Cases are generally heard by panels of three judges in Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, although, on occasion, they may choose to hold court in other locations. Cases may also be heard by a single judge or by en banc panels of seven judges.

RESPONSIBLE FOR

Original civil actions brought by and against the Commonwealth

Appeals from decisions made by state agencies and the Courts of

Note that the Voter ID issue was decided by a single commonwealth court judge.

Receiverships in Harrisburg and York are being managed by the commonwealth court.

Court of Common Pleas

The Courts of Common Pleas are the general trial courts of Pennsylvania. They are organized into 60 judicial districts. Most districts follow the geographic boundaries of counties, but seven of the districts are comprised of two counties. Each district has from one to 93 judges and has a president judge and a court administrator. There are 451 judges in this category.

They are responsible for:

• Appeals from the minor courts
• Appeals not exclusively assigned to another court
• Matters involving children and families

Information taken from :

In Franklin County we have 5 active judges, and 2 senior judges.
These now include:

• Angela R. Krom,
• Shawn Meyers,
• Carol L. Van Horn, president judge
• Jeremiah Zook
• Todd Sponseller
• Sr judge- Douglas Herman
• Sr Judge John Walker

More can be learned by looking into :