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10:05 AM / Thursday March 28, 2024

21 May 2023

Locally and statewide, a number of Philadelphia’s judicial candidates win decisively.

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May 21, 2023 Category: Election 2024 Posted by:

By Amy V. Simmons

Every member of society is impacted by the judicial system at some point or another, either directly or indirectly.

All levels of the judiciary must be led by judges who are competent, equitable, and objective.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, “approximately half of the States appoint judges and half elect them.” The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is one of 13 of those states that hold partisan elections for these individuals.

The decisions made by Pennsylvania’s judges have never been more consequential, with everything from voting rights to abortion and gun control facing legal challenges.

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas

In addition, the decisions made locally within Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas impact all of our lives. Judges are elected for terms of 10 years, so they must be committed and capable.

Judge Brian McLaughlin, who was appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf last summer, is assigned to the Family Division’s Juvenile Branch. It is a commitment that he would like to continue. As of press time, McLaughlin is one of the 10 candidates in the running to do just that. There were 16 candidates in total vying for 10 seats.

“The job is wonderful,” McLaughlin said. “Before I became a judge, I had my own practice where I did, for the past 19 years, adult and juvenile criminal defense. I also did dependent work, too. I sit in dependency court, [and] I look after the abused and neglected children in our society.
Every parent that comes before me I can relate to, because I’ve represented the parent like that in the past, and every child that comes before me, I can relate to because I had a child like that in the past that I represented. So, my job is keeping families together. I can’t ask for anything more. I love it and I want to do it for another 10 years.”

McLaughlin was rated “Recommended” by the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Judicial Commission in its endorsement report — one of the main sources voters consult when selecting judicial candidates.

Other candidates leading in the race are Natasha Taylor Smith, who received the most votes and was rated “Highly Recommended” by the Philadelphia Bar Association; Judge John Padova, a 2019 Wolf appointee, Kay Yu and Chesley Lightsey, who were also rated “Highly Recommended”); and “Recommended” candidates Judge Tamika Washington, another 2022 Wolf appointee seeking a full term, Samantha Williams, Damaris Garcia, Caroline Turner, and Jessica Brown.

Philadelphia Municipal Court

Philadelphia’s Municipal Court has three divisions: Civil, Traffic, which handles vehicle law violations, and Criminal. Municipal Court judges serve for six years.

Although she’s run before, persistence and name recognition are what helped Municipal Court Judge candidate Barbara Thomson’s campaign gain traction this time around, she said.

“I think that what happened was a couple of years ago, people didn’t know who I was, because I wasn’t a public figure, and so once I got my name out there, people heard what I said — I think that’s what makes a difference,” Thomson said.

Thomson, who wound up besting two opponents in the Democratic primary, believes in the court she fought hard to serve.

“The Municipal Court is the most important court in our city because over 100,000 cases go through there a year,” Thomson told the SUN on Tuesday. “It’s the difference [between] people getting a chance and not getting a chance, between poverty and middle class, addiction treatment, having a roof over somebody’s head, and homelessness, even for the LGBTQ community. It’s the difference between isolation and a community. So, I feel what Municipal Court is especially great at this is access to the diversion programs, because if they’re the lower-level crimes — the lower-level situations — there’s a chance for somebody to get back on the right path.”

In addition to providing some pro bono criminal and landlord-tenant legal assistance, Thomson has been involved in public service projects for 35 years, she said.

One of those projects is the Philadelphia Hub of Hope, a homeless day shelter located beneath City Hall which she helped institute, Thomson said.

“I managed the interaction between SEPTA, the City and Project Home so that [it] could open [in a timely manner],” she said. “We had a very short timeframe. It was [important] that it could open while it was still cold outside because it defeated the purpose to open in spring. We only had a six-week window to get that done.”

Another project Thomson has been part of is helping to institute the Philadelphia City ID card, she said.

Currently, Thomson serves at the Welcoming Center, an organization that assists asylum seekers upon their arrival in Philadelphia via bus, she said.

“Public policy has always been in my heart,” Thomson said. “I have a master’s in public policy as well. I got that when I was 22 years old, so I’ve been serving since. Then I went back to law school so that I could do more. I thought I’d have a bigger impact. As I’ve gotten more involved with the personal stories [of] people, that’s why I wanted to run for judge.”

Thomson was rated “Recommended” by the Philadelphia Bar Association.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

In the much-watched Pennsylvania Supreme Court race, Superior Court Judge Daniel McCaffrey (rated “Highly Recommended” by both the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations) handily bested his Democratic primary challenger, Debbie Kunselman.

McCaffrey, a Northeast Philadelphia native, has gone from strength to strength throughout his career, which includes a stint as an Assistant District Attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, a law partner, as a Trial Judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, in addition to his current position as a Superior Court judge.

McCaffrey will be facing Republican challenger Judge Carolyn Carluccio, the first woman to serve as President Judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, in November’s general election. Carluccio bested Commonwealth Court Appellate Judge Patricia McCullough, a Trump-endorsed candidate who voted to halt Pennsylvania’s certification of the 2020 election.

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Timika Lane — rated “Highly Recommended” —ran for the opportunity to serve on the Superior Court, one of Pennsylvania’s two statewide intermediate appellate courts.

According to the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania’s website, the Superior Court is “often the final arbiter of legal disputes,” and handles “appeals in criminal and most civil cases from the Court of Common Pleas” and “appeals on matters involving children and families.”

As of press time, both Lane and Judge Patrick Dugan, President Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court (“Recommended”) garnered the most votes and appear to have bested Pittsburgh native Jill Beck in the Democratic primary election for two of the Superior Court’s 15 seats.

They will face their Republican challengers — Maria Battista and Harry Smail Jr. — in November’s general election.

Judges matter more now than ever, Lane told the SUN on Tuesday.

“We’ve seen the constant assaults on our rights across the country,” she said. “Look what’s going on in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin — all around [us]. We’re not immune to that here in Pennsylvania, so we need judges who are experienced to understand and to fight for us.

In light of the challenges the Commonwealth faced during the 2020 presidential election, that experience and drive are essential for the 2024 election cycle.

“It is absolutely vital,” Lane said. “If you look at the courts, it’s really been Pennsylvania courts that have saved democracy. We wouldn’t have President Biden had it not been for Pennsylvania courts. We would not have had people’s votes being counted, had it not been for Pennsylvania courts. So of course, more than ever, we see the challenges will still arise. And we have to make sure that we have the most qualified judges in place to understand us.”

Local representation matters at all levels.

“I’m born and raised here in Philadelphia, from the bottom, and we need people from our community to be a voice and to make sure that everybody is treated the same, no matter where you’re from, where you live, how much money you have, what color your skin is, or what religion you practice,” Lane said. “We all deserve to have a fair trial to be treated with dignity and respect.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania is the second of the state’s two intermediate appellate courts.

In the Commonwealth Court race, Judge Matt Wolf, Supervising Civil Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, bested challenger Bryan Neft, and will likely face Republican challenger Megan Martin in November, who as of press time has a narrow lead over challenger Josh Prince.

The General Election takes place on November 7.

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