2015 PA Supreme Court Judge (vote for u to 3)
Clicking on a candidate's name will bring you to their campaign website. You will see letter in parentheses after each person's name-these relate to the PA bar's recommendation as to how qualified they are for the position:
(R) = Recommended
(HR) = Highly Recommended
Dwayne D. Woodruff (R)
Common pleas judge
Age: 58
Education:
-U of Louisville, BS finance
-Duquesne U, JD
Experience:
-Allegheny Co and PA interbranch commissions on juvenile justice
-Nat council of juvenile anf family court judges
-Juvenile court procedural rules committee
-Pitts shared accountability for education workgroup
-National campaign to stop violence
-Juvenile court judges commission
-Educational success and truancy prevention program
Issues:
-Believes that laws should be interpreted based on their plain language meaning
-Considers it a privilege to give guidance to youth
Personal:
-Played for the Pittsburgh Steelers (practiced law for 3 years during his pro ball career)
-Married, 3 adult children
Community involvement:
-Serves as church elder, growth group facilitator, and marriage ministry mentor
Kevin M. Dougherty (R)
Common pleas judge
Age: 52
“Family, Integrity, Justice for all”
Education:
Temple U, BA
Antioch school of law, JD
Experience:
-ADA, 6 years
-Lawyer, 6 years
-Judge 13 years
-Administrative judge, 9 years
Issues:
-Creates reforms that led to a decline in the number of kids in foster care, an increase in adoptions, and made Philly a national leader in the collection of child support. Also improved the way social services are targeted to at risk youth so they receive appropriate education and mental health services.
-Believes everyone must have far and equal access to the justice system, and provided pro bono work for those who could not afford it
Media: http://www.doughertyforpa.com/blog/330-watch-kevin-s-first-tv-ad
http://www.doughertyforpa.com/blog/328-kevin-dougherty-kicks-off-campaign-for-pa-supreme-court
John H. Foradora (R)
Common Pleas Judge
Age: 49
Education:
Juniata, BA-history/Poli-Sci
U of Notre Dame Law, JD
Experience:
-Law clerk
-10 years trial attorney (has handled cases before the appellate courts of PA)
-10 years Municipal Solicitor
-13 years President Judge
-Officer in state conference of trial court judges
-Co-authored a legal digest “One Nation Under Age”
-Worked in the Poli-Sci dept in college as a research assistant-won an award for his work there.
-Was appointed to the Gov’s advisory committee on probation by both Ed Rendell and Tom Corbett
-Strategic Planning Workshop of PA sentencing commission
-PA supreme court selected him for the steering committee for the judicial efficiency study
-PA supreme court appointed him administrative judge of judicial unit III, with responsibility for 10 counties and 12 judges.
-Taught many judicial and legal education programs (professor of business law at DuBois business college)
Issues:
-Gave only one word answers to the league of women voters’ questions. According to that he believes that the plain language of the law is how it should be interpreted.
-I’m running because we must clean up our Supreme Court. We must restore transparency, ethics and good old common sense to the bench. The only way we can do this is if we have a Supreme Court that is representative of all Pennsylvanians. I became a judge to help people – to do that, you have to be fair and impartial.”
-Promises to rule according to the law, not party line.
-Supports election of judges rather than appointment (which he sees as a highly political process)
-Enjoys educating people in his courtroom on the process and what’s going on
-Wants to see better efficiency in the supreme court with better communication about their schedule (decisions of whether to handle a case, and when the decision on a case will be made)
-Would love to see more judges speak to the public and educate them on what they do
Personal:
-Second youngest president judge ever elected in PA
-Son of a coal miner and a nurse
-Married, 1 kid
Community Involvement:
-Sons and Daughters of Italy
-Grand Lodge of PA
-Safari Club International
-PA Farmer’s Union
Radio Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vdl7a0G_I
David N. Wecht (HR)
Judge PA Superior Court
Age: 53
Education:
Yale, BA history and poli-sci, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Yale Law School, JD
Experience:
-11 years common pleas judge-family and civil divisions
-5 years Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans Court, in which he pioneered free will consultations for seniors and authorship of a law that prevents murders from controlling their victim’s estates
-Vice chair, PA democratic party
-2 years as administrative judge of family division, during which time he implemented several reforms and innovations including the unified family court (which provides faster and better results for children), the local rule on parenting coordination, and improved conflict counsel appointments in juvenile cases
-Selected as an editor for 3 Yale publications
-Law clerk for federal appeals judge (received an award for distinguished service in that position)
-Lawyer
-Adjunct professor at Duquesne U and U of Pittsburgh
-Frequent lecturer and author
-Member of the American law institute, fellow of Allegheny county bar foundation, board member of parent education and advocacy leadership center
-Former member of executive committee of the PA conference of state trial judges
-Served as board member of PA supreme court’s domestic relations procedural rules committee
-Worked in a prison giving legal assistance to inmates
-Worked in the prosecutor’s office helping to pursue cases against career criminals
Issues:
-Believes that interpretation of laws must be allowed to evolve
-Believes in interpretation of laws based on their plain language meaning
-Wants to ban gifts to judges and end nepotism (wants to see current relatives of judges find new work, would give a 5 year sunset period for that to occur)
-Wishes to bring transparency to the judiciary
-Wants to see judges who’s recusal is sought to state a reason on the record for granting or denying the motion
-Wants to see candidates seeking judicial office be required to take an ethics course
-Wants to have court proceeding broadcast on TV-except in certain cases such as child abuse, etc. Closing proceedings would be at the discretion of the judge(s).
-Admires a judge known for transparency, respect of privacy, and for saying that the gov’t cannot be a lawbreaker
-Disagrees with a recent ruling in which a student who was injured due to school district neglect (and despite the dist carrying 11million in insurance) the student was only awarded something like 500 thousand-despite needing lifelong care and suffering a loss of life quality.
Personal:
-Father and mother were in the military
-Father figured out legionnaires’ disease
Community Involvement:
-Law enforcement advisory committee of the PA commission on crime and delinquency
-Criminal justice advisory committee of Allegheny county community college
-Juvenile court judges commission
-Amen Corner
Media and Interviews: http://davidwecht.ngpvanhost.com/form/8033022447508064000
Anne Lazarus (HR)
Superior Court Judge
Age: 63
Education:
SUNY, BA
Temple U, JD
Temple U, LLM (master of laws)
Experience:
-19 years trial judge
-5 years superior court judge
-Lawyer
-Chair state conference of trial judges ethics committee, 6 years
-Served on judicial conduct board since 2011
-Led an ad hoc committee that reviewed the canons of judicial conduct
Issues:
-Believes judges should be elected rather than appointed
-Believes that laws should be interpreted by their plain meaning
-Considers herself a judicial ethics expert
-Worked to increase pro bono services to ensure everyone has access to our judicial system
Personal:
-Spent the time between college and law school bringing boat up from the Bahamas to CT as crew
-Married, 2 kids
Community Involvement:
-Mentors young lawyers and law students through work as the past president of the Brandies Law Society, teaching at Temple Law School, and lecturing across the state
-Board member, Philly volunteers for the indigent
-Former VP Gershman Y of Philly
-Former president: Prisoners’ family welfare assoc, Temple American inn of court
-former board member: Hahnhemann Nursing school, Tempel Beth Hillel/Beth El
Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooP6Rc9nILs
Christine Donohue (HR)
Superior Court Judge
Age: 63
Education:
East Stroudsburg U, BA poli-sci
Duquesne U, JD
Experience:
-27 years as a lawyer
-Superior court judge
-PA court of judicial discipline
-Judicial conduct board of PA
-Lawyer disciplinary board of PA supreme court
-PA board of law examiners
-In law school participated in moot court competitions, made law review as the decisions editor, and graduated the top 10% of her class
-Lecturer at Duquesne
Issues:
-Tried to answer the league of women voters questions without violating the ethics conditions
-Stated that the touchstone of constitutional interpretation s to determine the intent of the voters who ratified that amendment
-Wants to grow public confidence in the judicial branch in general and the supreme court in particular
-Would like to work with the Gov’s office to make the judicial discipline system more efficient and effective
-Wishes to shed light on the administrative duties of the supreme court, including their appointments to various boards and committees
-Believes judges should be elected rather than appointed
-As a lawyer, protected the rights of injured people, held corporations accountable, and worked to eleiminate bias against LGBT parents in custody cases
-Aware of how costly delayed decisions can be the rule in her chambers has been that every case be decided in under 45 days
Personal:
-Parents were a mine worker and a seamstress. Her father was a marine and also served on the town council.
-She financed her education with work as a teaching and staff assistant, and as a photographer at a resort in the Poconos
-Worked for a regional economic development agency
-Has a dog
-Enjoys restoring her Tudor home
Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooP6Rc9nILs
(R) = Recommended
(HR) = Highly Recommended
Dwayne D. Woodruff (R)
Common pleas judge
Age: 58
Education:
-U of Louisville, BS finance
-Duquesne U, JD
Experience:
-Allegheny Co and PA interbranch commissions on juvenile justice
-Nat council of juvenile anf family court judges
-Juvenile court procedural rules committee
-Pitts shared accountability for education workgroup
-National campaign to stop violence
-Juvenile court judges commission
-Educational success and truancy prevention program
Issues:
-Believes that laws should be interpreted based on their plain language meaning
-Considers it a privilege to give guidance to youth
Personal:
-Played for the Pittsburgh Steelers (practiced law for 3 years during his pro ball career)
-Married, 3 adult children
Community involvement:
-Serves as church elder, growth group facilitator, and marriage ministry mentor
Kevin M. Dougherty (R)
Common pleas judge
Age: 52
“Family, Integrity, Justice for all”
Education:
Temple U, BA
Antioch school of law, JD
Experience:
-ADA, 6 years
-Lawyer, 6 years
-Judge 13 years
-Administrative judge, 9 years
Issues:
-Creates reforms that led to a decline in the number of kids in foster care, an increase in adoptions, and made Philly a national leader in the collection of child support. Also improved the way social services are targeted to at risk youth so they receive appropriate education and mental health services.
-Believes everyone must have far and equal access to the justice system, and provided pro bono work for those who could not afford it
Media: http://www.doughertyforpa.com/blog/330-watch-kevin-s-first-tv-ad
http://www.doughertyforpa.com/blog/328-kevin-dougherty-kicks-off-campaign-for-pa-supreme-court
John H. Foradora (R)
Common Pleas Judge
Age: 49
Education:
Juniata, BA-history/Poli-Sci
U of Notre Dame Law, JD
Experience:
-Law clerk
-10 years trial attorney (has handled cases before the appellate courts of PA)
-10 years Municipal Solicitor
-13 years President Judge
-Officer in state conference of trial court judges
-Co-authored a legal digest “One Nation Under Age”
-Worked in the Poli-Sci dept in college as a research assistant-won an award for his work there.
-Was appointed to the Gov’s advisory committee on probation by both Ed Rendell and Tom Corbett
-Strategic Planning Workshop of PA sentencing commission
-PA supreme court selected him for the steering committee for the judicial efficiency study
-PA supreme court appointed him administrative judge of judicial unit III, with responsibility for 10 counties and 12 judges.
-Taught many judicial and legal education programs (professor of business law at DuBois business college)
Issues:
-Gave only one word answers to the league of women voters’ questions. According to that he believes that the plain language of the law is how it should be interpreted.
-I’m running because we must clean up our Supreme Court. We must restore transparency, ethics and good old common sense to the bench. The only way we can do this is if we have a Supreme Court that is representative of all Pennsylvanians. I became a judge to help people – to do that, you have to be fair and impartial.”
-Promises to rule according to the law, not party line.
-Supports election of judges rather than appointment (which he sees as a highly political process)
-Enjoys educating people in his courtroom on the process and what’s going on
-Wants to see better efficiency in the supreme court with better communication about their schedule (decisions of whether to handle a case, and when the decision on a case will be made)
-Would love to see more judges speak to the public and educate them on what they do
Personal:
-Second youngest president judge ever elected in PA
-Son of a coal miner and a nurse
-Married, 1 kid
Community Involvement:
-Sons and Daughters of Italy
-Grand Lodge of PA
-Safari Club International
-PA Farmer’s Union
Radio Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vdl7a0G_I
David N. Wecht (HR)
Judge PA Superior Court
Age: 53
Education:
Yale, BA history and poli-sci, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Yale Law School, JD
Experience:
-11 years common pleas judge-family and civil divisions
-5 years Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans Court, in which he pioneered free will consultations for seniors and authorship of a law that prevents murders from controlling their victim’s estates
-Vice chair, PA democratic party
-2 years as administrative judge of family division, during which time he implemented several reforms and innovations including the unified family court (which provides faster and better results for children), the local rule on parenting coordination, and improved conflict counsel appointments in juvenile cases
-Selected as an editor for 3 Yale publications
-Law clerk for federal appeals judge (received an award for distinguished service in that position)
-Lawyer
-Adjunct professor at Duquesne U and U of Pittsburgh
-Frequent lecturer and author
-Member of the American law institute, fellow of Allegheny county bar foundation, board member of parent education and advocacy leadership center
-Former member of executive committee of the PA conference of state trial judges
-Served as board member of PA supreme court’s domestic relations procedural rules committee
-Worked in a prison giving legal assistance to inmates
-Worked in the prosecutor’s office helping to pursue cases against career criminals
Issues:
-Believes that interpretation of laws must be allowed to evolve
-Believes in interpretation of laws based on their plain language meaning
-Wants to ban gifts to judges and end nepotism (wants to see current relatives of judges find new work, would give a 5 year sunset period for that to occur)
-Wishes to bring transparency to the judiciary
-Wants to see judges who’s recusal is sought to state a reason on the record for granting or denying the motion
-Wants to see candidates seeking judicial office be required to take an ethics course
-Wants to have court proceeding broadcast on TV-except in certain cases such as child abuse, etc. Closing proceedings would be at the discretion of the judge(s).
-Admires a judge known for transparency, respect of privacy, and for saying that the gov’t cannot be a lawbreaker
-Disagrees with a recent ruling in which a student who was injured due to school district neglect (and despite the dist carrying 11million in insurance) the student was only awarded something like 500 thousand-despite needing lifelong care and suffering a loss of life quality.
Personal:
-Father and mother were in the military
-Father figured out legionnaires’ disease
Community Involvement:
-Law enforcement advisory committee of the PA commission on crime and delinquency
-Criminal justice advisory committee of Allegheny county community college
-Juvenile court judges commission
-Amen Corner
Media and Interviews: http://davidwecht.ngpvanhost.com/form/8033022447508064000
Anne Lazarus (HR)
Superior Court Judge
Age: 63
Education:
SUNY, BA
Temple U, JD
Temple U, LLM (master of laws)
Experience:
-19 years trial judge
-5 years superior court judge
-Lawyer
-Chair state conference of trial judges ethics committee, 6 years
-Served on judicial conduct board since 2011
-Led an ad hoc committee that reviewed the canons of judicial conduct
Issues:
-Believes judges should be elected rather than appointed
-Believes that laws should be interpreted by their plain meaning
-Considers herself a judicial ethics expert
-Worked to increase pro bono services to ensure everyone has access to our judicial system
Personal:
-Spent the time between college and law school bringing boat up from the Bahamas to CT as crew
-Married, 2 kids
Community Involvement:
-Mentors young lawyers and law students through work as the past president of the Brandies Law Society, teaching at Temple Law School, and lecturing across the state
-Board member, Philly volunteers for the indigent
-Former VP Gershman Y of Philly
-Former president: Prisoners’ family welfare assoc, Temple American inn of court
-former board member: Hahnhemann Nursing school, Tempel Beth Hillel/Beth El
Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooP6Rc9nILs
Christine Donohue (HR)
Superior Court Judge
Age: 63
Education:
East Stroudsburg U, BA poli-sci
Duquesne U, JD
Experience:
-27 years as a lawyer
-Superior court judge
-PA court of judicial discipline
-Judicial conduct board of PA
-Lawyer disciplinary board of PA supreme court
-PA board of law examiners
-In law school participated in moot court competitions, made law review as the decisions editor, and graduated the top 10% of her class
-Lecturer at Duquesne
Issues:
-Tried to answer the league of women voters questions without violating the ethics conditions
-Stated that the touchstone of constitutional interpretation s to determine the intent of the voters who ratified that amendment
-Wants to grow public confidence in the judicial branch in general and the supreme court in particular
-Would like to work with the Gov’s office to make the judicial discipline system more efficient and effective
-Wishes to shed light on the administrative duties of the supreme court, including their appointments to various boards and committees
-Believes judges should be elected rather than appointed
-As a lawyer, protected the rights of injured people, held corporations accountable, and worked to eleiminate bias against LGBT parents in custody cases
-Aware of how costly delayed decisions can be the rule in her chambers has been that every case be decided in under 45 days
Personal:
-Parents were a mine worker and a seamstress. Her father was a marine and also served on the town council.
-She financed her education with work as a teaching and staff assistant, and as a photographer at a resort in the Poconos
-Worked for a regional economic development agency
-Has a dog
-Enjoys restoring her Tudor home
Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooP6Rc9nILs