Judicial Candidates for Allegheny County voters. How to evaluate judicial candidates - League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh

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Judicial Candidates -- 2023 Election

Information for Allegheny County Voters

On this Page:

PA State Court Candidates*
Court of Common Pleas Candidates*
Magisterial District Judge Candidates*
Retention Questions
Evaluating Candidates for Judge

* candidate information is from 2023. The next judicial elections will be in 2025.

This archived page contains information on the 2023 election cycle. For information on the current election cycle, please see the pages on our 2024 Elections menu.

For more information about Pennsylvania's court system, see our PA Courts page.

2024 Election Pages

Candidate Information for Statewide Courts
Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth Courts

Candidates for State Appellate Courts

Democratic and Republican candidates were chosen in the May Primary.

Third party candidates, if any, will be added after their filing deadline in August.

Justice of the Supreme Court
1 opening

Democratic Candidate:

Daniel McCaffery

Republican Candidate:

Carolyn Carluccio

Judge of the Superior Court
2 openings

Democratic Candidates

Timika Lane
Jill Beck

Republican Candidates

Maria Battista
Harry F. Smail, Jr.

Judge of the Commonwealth Court
1 opening

Democratic Candidate

Matt Wolf

Republican Candidate

Megan Martin

Candidate Guide

Download the Vote411 "Mini-Guide" for Pennsylvania's Statewide Judicial Races

All candidates have provided responses including:

Biographical and Educational background
Answers to survey questions
Links to their websites and social media accounts

Use the links provided in the mini-guide to learn more about these candidates.

You can find information about all races on your ballot by entering your address at Vote411.org.

All information in the mini-guide is taken from Vote411.org, a project of the League of Women Voters, and the LWVPA Citizen Education Fund.

Download the Voters' Guide here:

Nov 2023 State Judicial Candidates

To share, use this permanent link:

www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1212574

Candidate Forums

View the
PA Appellate Court Forum

Recorded October 24, 2023

Sponsored by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts

Co-sponsored by:
- Allegheny County Law Library
- Berks County Bar Association
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
- Committee of Seventy
- Dauphin County Bar Association
- Erie County Bar Association
- Free Library of Philadelphia
- League of Women Voters - Pennsylvania
- League of Women Voters - Pittsburgh
- Montgomery County Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- United Voices for Philadalphia

More Resources

Pennsylvania Bar Association Ratings and Questionnaires

Candidates for Countywide Courts
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

Candidates for the Court of Common Pleas

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
1 opening

Democratic Candidate

Patrick Sweeney

Republican Candidate

Anthony DeLuca

Download the Voters' Guide

2023 Common Pleas mini-guide
To share, use this permanent link:
www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1212587

Candidate Videos
(reruns from 2021)

We asked candidates for their views on the application of cash bail, and the use of special courts or restorative justice as alternatives to incarceration. These videos were submitted by the candidates during the 2021 Primary season.

More Resources

Allegheny County Bar Association Candidate Ratings
(Recommendations for retention questions are at the top of the page. Scroll down for judicial candidates.)

Candidate Information for Magisterial District Courts
in Allegheny County

Candidates for Magisterial District Courts

Allegheny County has 46 Magisterial District Courts. 22 of these Magisterial District Judge seats are up for reelection in 2023. In most cases, only one candidate is running for the position. There are 6 seats with competitive races:

Magisterial District Judge 05-02-05
Brackenridge, East Deer Township, Fawn Township, Harrison Township, Tarentum Borough

Candidates

Carolyn Saldari Bengel (D)
Thomas A. Babinsack (R)

These candidates did not respond to Vote411.

Magisterial District 05-02-12
Bradford Woods Borough, Marshall Township, McCandless Township, Pine Township

Candidates

Eric Fischer (D)
Matt Brungo (R)

District 5-02-12 mini-guide
To share, use this permanent link:
www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1237604

Magisterial District 05-02-31
City of Pittsburgh – Wards 8,10,11 (Highland Park, Morningside)

Candidates

Kate Lovelace (D)
Anthony Vaccarello (R)

District 5-02-31 mini-guide
To share, use this permanent link:
www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1237605

Magisterial District 05-02-32
Oakmont, Plum Borough

Candidates

Melanie Pallone (D)
Mike Doyle (R)

These candidates did not respond to Vote411.

Magisterial District 05-03-02
Aleppo Township, Bell Acres, Edgeworth, Franklin Park Borough, Glenfield, Haysville, Leet Township, Leetsdale, Osborne, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights , Sewickley Hills

Candidates

Guiseppe Rosselli (D)
Joseph Bellissimo (R)

District 5-03-02 mini-guide
To share, use this permanent link:
www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1237607

Magisterial District 05-03-03
Cheswick Borough, Frazier Township, Harmar Township, Springdale Borough, Springdale Township

Candidates

Mitchell Karaica (D)
Michael J. Girardi (R)

District 5-03-03 mini-guide
To share, use this permanent link:
www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1237606

Judicial Retention Questions

Retention Questions

Pennsylvania voters will have several retention questions on the ballot. These questions will be at the bottom of the ballot, separate from the partisan races for other offices.

Two are statewide retention questions for PA Superior Court:

Shall Jack A. Panella be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?

Shall Victor P. Stabile be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?

The remaining questions are for the following incumbent judges in the Allegheny County Courts of Common Pleas:

Shall Eleanor L. Bush be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 5th Judicial District, Allegheny County?
Shall Paul E. Cozza be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 5th Judicial District, Allegheny County?
Shall Lawrence Joseph O’Toole be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 5th Judicial District, Allegheny County?
Shall Jill E. Rangos be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 5th Judicial District, Allegheny County?
Shall Jennifer Satler be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 5th Judicial District, Allegheny County?
Shall Christine Ward be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 5th Judicial District, Allegheny County?

Accordion Widget

What is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)

Judicial retention is a way of re-electing judges without repeating the partisan competition and campaigning of a typical election.

In Pennsylvania, judges are elected to the state courts for 10 year terms. When judges are elected to a state court for the first time, they run in partisan campaigns and may compete against other candidates. Then, when their 10-year terms are over, they are up for retention. In a retention election:

No other candidates are permitted to run for the seat.
The judge's political party is not listed.
Voters are asked a simple yes/no question: Should we keep this judge for another 10-year term, or not?

This is meant to keep judges out of partisan politics as much as possible. It is very unusual for a judge to lose a retention vote.

How can you evaluate retention candidates?

Judges who are up for retention do not have campaigns or participate in forums or candidate guides, but they are rated by the PA Bar Association. You can read the ratings and supporting documentation at the link. The PA Bar Association recommends a "Yes" vote for both Superior Court retention candidates for November 2023.

The Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) has rated all of the retention candidates for Common Pleas Court. The ACBA recommends a "Yes" vote for all Common Pleas retention candidates.

Evaluating Candidates for Judge

Judicial Campaign Rules

Candidates for judge are not allowed to state their views on any issues that may come up in a court case. Voters may care very much about recent court rulings on election law, reproductive rights, gun safety and other issues, but judicial candidates cannot answer questions about, or campaign on these issues. This can make it challenging for voters to choose between candidates.

Vote411.org

Visit Vote411.org and enter your address to see which candidates will be on your ballot.

If they responded to our invitation, you will find biographical data and survey responses, along with website and social media contact information.

Use the links provided to visit a candidate's campaign website or view their social media accounts for a fuller picture of the candidate.

Bar Association Ratings

The Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) and the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) rate candidates for county and state-wide courts. You can also view the candidate's Personal Data Questionnaire that was submitted for review for a fuller picture of the candidate's work experience.

Candidates are rated as Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended based on an interview and records review by a bipartisan committee of their peers. You can find explanations of these ratings on the ACBA website.

View the ratings and questionnaires from:

Allegheny County Bar Association - for candidates for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and statewide candidates based in Allegheny County

Pennsylvania Bar Association for candidates for PA's Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme Court

Candidate Endorsements

Advocacy groups and politicians may endorse judicial candidates.

Although candidates for judge cannot state their views on any issues, advocacy groups and other politicians can state their views on judges. Single issue advocacy groups often issue endorsements of judicial candidates based on their knowledge of the candidate's record. Candidates may post these endorsements on their campaign websites, or the advocacy group may publish a list of endorsements. Try an internet search like "Jane McDoe Commonwealth Court endorsements."

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