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Trio of Superior Court Candidates Emerge

PA Judicial CenterIt’s been a busy month in the race for Superior Court seats.

We’ve already had Mary Murray, Wade Kagarise and Bill Caye throw their hats into the ring. Now it appears the field is doubling.

Philadelphia County Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Nichols announced her entry into this year’s Democratic primary yesterday.

“I’m running for Superior Court to bring my two decades of legal experience, a balanced approach and a firm commitment to bringing integrity to the bench,” she stated. “This state has hardworking residents who deserve jurists that have the experience and dedication to the law. I am prepared to take the next step and serve on Pennsylvania’s Superior Court”.

Nichols received her law degree from Temple University and as well as a MBA from Eastern University.

Meanwhile, David Barton is running in the GOP primary. Barton is a Magisterial Court Judge in Allegheny County. Last year the PA Supreme Court appointed him to the Court of Judicial Discipline.

“I am excited to officially launch my campaign for Superior Court,” Barton said. “It is critical that Pennsylvanians elect experienced and qualified jurists to the Superior Court who understand all levels of our judicial system, and know civil as well as criminal law.”

“Pennsylvania voters can count on me to interpret the Constitution and laws as written and not legislate from the bench. Additionally, as a member of the Court of Judicial Discipline, I know firsthand how important it is for judges to maintain the highest ethical standards.  This strengthens the public’s trust in our judicial system. I am committed to continuing my work to make our judicial system honest, fair, and efficient.”

Finally, according to Sam Janesch of Lancaster Online, Lancaster County DA Craig Stedman is considering entering the Republican primary.

There are currently four vacant or soon-to-be open seats on the State Superior Court. Among the eleven non-interim members, the partisan breakdown is seven Republicans and four Democrats.

12 Responses

  1. I am disappointed that Superior candidate Jules Mermelstein wasn’t mentioned. I hope there is another forum. The issue of gerrymandering is too important to ignore and as the Green Party candidate he has a truly unbiased position. He will also strongly support civil liberties in a somewhat more balanced way.
    http://www.mermelstein4judge.org/about

  2. Becky Holzinger is an insame person from Philadelphia who has published numerous lies and misinformation about Lancaster on a daily basis. Please disregard and do not feed the trolls.

  3. I believe for some democrats and republicans will win these seats in this November elections is to be judges.

  4. If anyone has any questions about Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman, please contact me. I have a website about Lancaster County that has published daily for over 10 years.

    Stedman gave unbelievably preferential/cover-up treatment to State Representative Bryan Cutler’s brother-in-law, G. Scott Davis, when he shot his two month old baby to death on Christmas Eve.

    He gave preferential treatment to former Lancaster County Commissioner and now State Senator Scott Martin’s sister, Katie West, when she was involved in a car accident while high on heroin and was not charged but they charged an immigrant truck driver and tried to blame the crash on him. A jury found him innocent and his lawyer repeatedly questioned why she was not charged.

    Just recently 280 people signed a petition to the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting death of 15-year-old Ibram Hanna in Mountville, PA by 17-year-old George Rosado who had stolen the gun from a car the day before. It turned out in court testimony Rosado had broken into over 300 cars previously during his years in the criminal justice system since the age of 12. Stedman’s office closed the case in under 11 hours and tried to charge Rosado as a juvenile. A judge just ruled he should be tried as an adult.

    Oh, and there is so much more. This man should not be a District Attorney let alone a Superior Court Judge! My contact information and many more stories are on http://www.lipnews.com.

  5. Judge Nichols is a fine candidate who will do well. She has an excellent temperament and work ethic. I will be voting for her.

  6. There are other current and/or former District Attorneys/Assistant District Attorneys running. Tonkin, Kagarise, and Warren can all make that claim.

  7. Mary Murray is from Southwest PA. If Barton doesn’t get the endorsement, he has no chance. Watch the straw polls this weekend. It will tell you all you need to know.

    Stedman is a figure head DA. He doesn’t even prosecute cases. A judge needs to be non-biased and have experience in civil and criminal law. There are cases emerging across the country where judges who run as a “prosecutor” are being forced to recuse themselves because they are biased against defendants. Do some research. The fact he has only been a prosecutor will absolutely hurt him. Watch what the PBA says about this. He is not a good choice in my opinion.

  8. Mary is so wrong the only question that her uniformed comments beg is which candidate she is working for.

    Setting the record straight, Barton is the only candidate from southwest PA and has the support of the SW caucus including many of the elected officials.

    The Stedman attack is laughable. Stedman is the only district attorney running and actually has prosecutorial experience which the court is desperately lacking.

  9. I do not agree. Barton does have an excellent chance. He wins in democratic Allegheny County. Barton will do well in November in Allegheny County. That will help him win a statewide election.

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