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Chris Hall (Pennsylvania)
Chris Hall (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. He assumed office on January 3, 2022. His current term ends on January 5, 2032.
Hall (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. He won in the general election on November 2, 2021.
Hall completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Chris Hall was born in Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in 1981 and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985. Hall’s career experience includes working as an attorney. He has been affiliated with the following organizations:
- Federal Criminal Law Committee for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- American Bar Association
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Philadelphia Diversity Law Group
- Breakthrough Bike Challenge
- Abramson Cancer Center[1]
Elections
2021
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judges Gary S. Glazer, James Murray Lynn, Arnold L. New, and Robert J. Rebstock filed to run for retention in 2021, but later withdrew.[2] As a result, eight seats on the court were up in the primary election, but 12 seats were up in the general election on November 2, 2021. The Democratic Party nominated candidates Monica Gibbs, Leanne Litwin, Mark Moore, and John Sabatina Jr. to run for the additional four seats in the general election.[3][4]
See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2021)
General election
General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (12 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Wendi Barish (D) | 8.9 | 154,312 | |
| ✔ | Nick Kamau (D) | 8.8 | 153,790 | |
| ✔ | Michele Hangley (D) | 8.7 | 151,677 | |
| ✔ |  | Chris Hall (D)  | 8.7 | 150,829 |
| ✔ | Cateria McCabe (D) | 8.7 | 150,727 | |
| ✔ |  | Betsy Wahl (D) | 8.6 | 149,577 |
| ✔ |  | Mark Moore (D) | 8.2 | 142,964 |
| ✔ |  | Daniel Sulman (D) | 8.2 | 142,625 |
| ✔ | Craig Levin (D) | 8.1 | 141,424 | |
| ✔ | Monica Gibbs (D) | 8.0 | 139,573 | |
| ✔ |  | John Sabatina Jr. (D) | 7.6 | 132,348 |
| ✔ | Leanne Litwin (D) | 7.3 | 127,834 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 3,877 | ||
| Total votes: 1,741,557 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (12 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on May 18, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Nick Kamau | 9.5 | 103,129 | |
| ✔ | Wendi Barish | 9.3 | 100,441 | |
| ✔ | Cateria McCabe | 9.0 | 97,570 | |
| ✔ | | Betsy Wahl | 8.2 | 88,302 |
| ✔ | | Chris Hall | 8.0 | 86,610 |
| ✔ | Michele Hangley | 7.1 | 76,359 | |
| ✔ | Craig Levin | 6.9 | 74,215 | |
| ✔ | | Daniel Sulman | 6.8 | 73,017 |
 | Caroline Turner | 6.7 | 72,066 | |
| Mark Moore | 5.9 | 63,510 | |
 | Tamika Washington | 5.8 | 63,090 | |
| Terri Booker | 4.8 | 52,270 | ||
| John Padova Jr. | 4.7 | 50,506 | ||
| Maurice Houston | 2.8 | 29,864 | ||
| Rick Cataldi | 2.3 | 24,632 | ||
 | Patrick Moran | 2.3 | 24,305 | |
| Total votes: 1,079,886 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Peter Bryant (D)
- Christian DiCicco (D)
- Lopez T. Thompson (D)
- Sherrie Cohen (D)
- Rania Major (D)
Endorsements
To view Hall's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.
2017
Hall filed to run for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, but withdrew his candidacy on March 22, 2017.
Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
The 439 judges of the court of common pleas are elected to 10-year terms in partisan elections. Candidates may cross-file with both political parties for the partisan primaries, which are followed by general elections where the primary winners from each party compete.[5][6] Judges must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to continue serving after their first term. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation.[5][7]
- The president judge of each Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas is chosen by either peer vote or seniority, depending on the size of the court. Statewide, all courts composed of more than seven individuals must select their chief judge by peer vote. Those with seven or fewer members select their chief by seniority.[5][8]
Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must:[5]
- have state residence for at least one year;
- be a district resident for at least one year (for common pleas judges);
- be a member of the state bar; and
- be under the age of 75.
While retirement at 75 is mandatory, judges may apply for senior judge status. Senior judges may serve as such until the last day of the calendar year in which they turn 78.[8]
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Hall completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hall's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Rate "Highly Recommended" by the Philadelphia Bar Association
- Equity Through Excellence
- Criminal Justice Reform
I have fought to protect the people of Philadelphia through the justice system. I won the first environmental justice conviction in Pennsylvania against a corporate asbestos dumper who had violated the Clean Air Act, achieving a $1.5 million settlement for residents whose homes in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia were damaged. I successfully led the first case against predatory mortgage lending in Pennsylvania, stopping mortgage brokers and banks that were preying on communities of color in North Philadelphia. I also fought to hold corrupt public officials accountable who siphoned off much-needed funding for public housing in the Logan neighborhood of North Philadelphia.
More specifically, I would adopt the following three practices to implement my broader judicial philosophy:
“Procedural Justice.” Studies show defendants respect judgments imposed and experience lower recidivism rates when they believe the process has been fair. It is a low-cost solution to one of our society’s gravest problems: distrust of the judicial system. It requires judges simply to demonstrate respect to individuals, afford a fair opportunity to be heard, and explain their judgments. I would make “procedural justice” part of my courtroom’s DNA.Re-Entry Services. I would follow the example of US Third Circuit Judges McKee and Restrepo and would participate personally in the re-entry process by meeting with newly released prisoners to support them as they reunite with their families, search for jobs, and locate affordable housing. Re-entry Programs reduce recidivism, promote employment, and support families.
“Parsimony” in sentencing. As a criminal defense attorney for more than a decade, I have advocated for the faithful application of the federal sentencing statute’s “parsimony” provision. It requires judges to impose in a sentence “sufficient, but no greater than necessary” to comply with the purposes of sentencing. 18 USC §3553(a)(1). I have tirelessly advocated for fair sentencing practices during my 30+ years of criminal law practice. The Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys has recognized me with its highest award for advocacy – the Alan Jay Josel Award.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2021 Elections
External links
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Candidate Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 14, 2021
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "DECLARATIONS OF CANDIDACY FILED BY INCUMBENT JUDGES FOR RETENTION IN 2021," accessed October 20, 2021
- ↑ Philadelphia 3.0, "‘MAGIC SEAT’ JUDGES AND THE BROKEN CHAIN OF PARTY ACCOUNTABILITY," September 10, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Municipal and Special Election Philadelphia County," November 2, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ The Morning Call, "Ban Cross-filing As One Step," January 24, 1985
- ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "In Re: Nomination Papers of Marakay Rogers, Christina Valente and Carl J. Romanelli," November 7, 2006
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
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