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Important Upcoming Election of Judges
Posted
09-13-2001
In less than sixty days, Pennsylvanians will be electing seven new
judges to the Appellate Courts of our Commonwealth. There will be one new
Supreme Court Justice, three Superior Court Judges, and three Commonwealth
Court Judges elected. Compared to other elected offices, Appellate Court
elections usually do not motivate voters to get out and vote. But, these
judges do have a significant impact on our lives, as they are the
interpreters of our laws.
While the Superior and
Commonwealth Courts are larger and do not line up along partisan lines, the
seven-member Supreme Court could potentially play a more partisan role on
some issues. Remember, the US Supreme Court? They weren't elected, but they
made one of the most politically charged decisions in our history when they
selected George W. Bush as our President. Right now, on the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court, there are four Democrats and three Republicans. Chief Justice
Flaherty, a Democrat, is retiring. The balance could stay Democratic if
Superior Court Judge Kate Ford Elliott is elected, or it could shift to the
Republicans if Superior Court Judge Michael Eakin wins.
Perhaps the most political
decision the Supreme Court could make is a decision over reapportionment. If
the "bi-partisan" commission cannot satisfactorily resolve the issue, it
could end up before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Unlike other states that
use a computer program to determine legislative districts, Pennsylvania
relies on old-fashion political bartering. When that doesn’t work, the
courts decide.
Expect some sizeable sums of
money to be spent on the Supreme Court race. It will be interesting to see
how "civil" the campaigns remain. Historically, it can get nasty, and I
won't be surprised to see it happen again. The two candidates are colleagues
on the Superior Court, but when the political parties get involved, civility
can turn into exaggeration about one's judicial prowess or the real meaning
of a particular decision or opinion.
The Superior and Commonwealth
Court races are two teams of three running in races that can be determined
by ballot position or geography. We have neighbors from Allegheny County
running in both races. Allegheny County Register of Wills David Wecht is one
of three Democrats seeking a spot on the Superior Court and Attorney Jim
Dodaro is seeking one of three vacancies on the Commonwealth Court. Coming
from Allegheny County could help both gentlemen garner a large regional vote
that hopefully can propel them victory.
The other Democrats running
are Erie County Judge Stephanie Domitrovich and Philadelphia County Judge
Lydia Kirkland, both excellent candidates for Superior Court. For the
Commonwealth Court spots Lackawanna County attorney Jerry Langan and
Harrisburg attorney Irwin Aronson are teaming with Jim Dodaro and provide
solid credentials and a good geographic balance to the ticket. This year was
one of the first times we didn't have a blood bath in the primary, and our
slate worked together to build support for the general election.
These Appellate Court
positions are very important, and it will be interesting to see how much
attention the races get from the news media. Locally, there are races for
several row offices and, of course, municipal and school boards races. Often
municipal races and even some school board races are decided in the primary.
So potential turnout for those races becomes a non-issue. Off year elections
become a challenge for parties to get their hardcore voters out. If the
Democrats do that better than the Republicans, our slate of statewide
judicial candidates should win. If not we'll continue to see the trend of
more Republicans winning statewide races. |
