Deborah A. Kunselman

Deborah A. Kunselman

Democratic Party

Pennsylvania Superior Court

Tenure

2018 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

7

Compensation

Base salary

$239,059

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 7, 2017

Education

High school

Brentwood High School

Bachelor's

Pennsylvania State University, 1989

Law

University of Notre Dame Law School, 1992

Personal

Religion

Non-practicing Catholic

Profession

Judge

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Deborah A. Kunselman (Democratic Party) (also known as Debbie) is a judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. She assumed office on January 1, 2018. Her current term ends on January 3, 2028.

Kunselman (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She lost in the Democratic primary on May 16, 2023.

Kunselman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Deborah A. Kunselman was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. Kunselman's career experience includes working as an attorney with McMillan Urick Tocci Fouse & Jones and a solicitor with Beaver County. She earned a B.A. in international politics from Pennsylvania State University in 1989 and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 1992.

Elections

2023

See also: Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, 2023

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Daniel D. McCaffery defeated Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio in the general election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel D. McCaffery (D)	53.5	1,652,113
		Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio (R)	46.5	1,434,945

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,087,058
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Daniel D. McCaffery defeated Deborah A. Kunselman in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel D. McCaffery	60.2	633,845
		Deborah A. Kunselman	39.8	419,090

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,052,935
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio defeated Patricia McCullough in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio	53.6	441,413
		Patricia McCullough	46.4	382,512

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 823,925
= 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.

2017

See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2017

Elections were held for four seats on the Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 7, 2017. The following candidates ran in the general election for Pennsylvania Superior Court.

General Election for Pennsylvania Superior Court, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Maria McLaughlin	14.09%	1,078,522
	Democratic	Deborah A. Kunselman	13.61%	1,041,965
	Democratic	Carolyn H. Nichols	12.79%	978,842
	Republican	Mary P. Murray	12.00%	918,705
	Republican	Craig Stedman	11.95%	914,284
	Democratic	H. Geoffrey Moulton Jr. Incumbent	11.66%	892,646
	Republican	Emil A. Giordano	11.58%	885,996
	Republican	Wade Kagarise	10.92%	835,647
	Green	Jules Mermelstein	1.40%	106,969
Total Votes				7,653,576
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election Unofficial Returns," accessed December 21, 2017

Maria McLaughlin, Carolyn H. Nichols, Deborah A. Kunselman, and incumbent H. Geoffrey Moulton Jr. defeated William Caye II in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Democratic Primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Maria McLaughlin	23.30%	460,250
Carolyn H. Nichols	22.72%	448,675
Deborah A. Kunselman	21.92%	432,937
H. Geoffrey Moulton Jr. Incumbent	18.31%	361,547
William Caye II	13.75%	271,533
Total Votes (100% reported)		1,974,942
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "Official Returns," accessed December 21, 2017

Bar association rating

Kunselman received a rating of "highly recommended" from the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

2015

See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2015

Kunselman was retained to Beaver County Court of Common Pleas with 66.83 percent of the vote on November 3, 2015.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Deborah A. Kunselman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kunselman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an honors graduate of both Penn State University (1989) and the University of Notre Dame Law School (1992). As a lawyer for 13 years, my practice focused on personal injury, family law, employment discrimination and municipal law. I also served part-time for almost 8 years as the Chief County Solicitor in Beaver County. I handled all legal issues in the construction of our county jail, courthouse addition and parking garage, and the takeover of the Community College. In 2005, I was the first woman ever elected to the Court of Common Pleas in Beaver County. I won a retention election in 2015. For 12 years, I presided over hundreds of jury and non-jury trial cases in civil, criminal, family and juvenile court. Doing that time, I served for 6 years on the statewide judicial education committee, where I planned and presented numerous courses for judges and lawyers. In 2017, I was elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. There, I have ruled on over 3,000 appeals, including several high-profile cases. I have already decided nearly every type of case that will come before the Supreme Court. I have been "highly recommended" by the Pennsylvania Bar Association for the office of Supreme Court Justice. In addition to being a judge, I am a mother of three adult children, and I have been married for almost 29 years.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I have the most judicial experience of any candidate running for this office, I am the only candidate with significant exerience at both the trial court and the appellate court.
• I am passionate about the law and writing clear legal opinions that everyone can understand. You should not need a law degree to understand the judge's decision in your case.
• I believe in equal access to justice and transparency in our court system. The courts should be accessible to everyone regardless of income, race, gender, national origin, age, religion or sexual orientation.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about education and making the court system more efficient. Judges do not write the laws and do not get to choose which ares of law they want to interpret or set precedent Instead, judges resolve legal disputes after a case is filed in the court system. Appellate judges correct errors that occurred at the trial court to ensure the parties had a fair trial, and that the trial court appropriately applied to law to the facts of their case. The Supreme Court has discretion to choose the cases it decides. Obviously, these are cases where the question presented is one of first impression or is of such substantial public importance as to require prompt and definitive resolution by this court. This may include cases involving the constitutionality of a statute of the Commonwealth. My judicial decisions show that I have the knowledge and the courage to make these important decisions. The Supreme Court is also responsible for overseeing the entire judicial branch of government, including all of our lower courts, attorney and judicial discipline, the rules of court, and our probation offices and domestic relations offices (which calculate, collect and distribute child support payments). I bring government and leadership experience to serve in this important administrative role.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, Fairness, Courage to do the right thing even if it isn't popular.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To decide each case fairly according to the law of Pennsylvania and to uphold the constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

What legacy would you like to leave?

When I was first elected

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I was in grade school when Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed as the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. I was in high school when Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to run for Vice President of the United States. I remember thinking that if those women could serve at the highest levels of government, then I could too.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

When I graduated from law school, I was accepted into the Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Program. Before I could begin my commission, I had to pass any state bar exam and a military physical. I passed the bar, but I failed the physical because I had knee surgery in high school after a basketball injury. I applied for a waiver, but my request was denied. At that point, I was not sure what to do; I knew no lawyers, had no other job prospects, and had significant student loans to pay. So, I went to a temporary agency to start working as a legal secretary. Eventually, I landed a job as an attorney. I want voters to know this life experience shows that no job is beneath me and that I am willing to work hard to be successful. I know first-hand the struggles many Pennsylvanians face to pay their bills and provide for their families. On my journey from legal secretary to candidate for Supreme Court Justice, I have seen the legal system from many different perspectives, and I will bring that knowledge and wisdom to the office if elected.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

he Supreme Court is responsible for the administration of the entire judicial branch of government, including all of our lower courts, attorney and judicial discipline, the rules of court, and our probation offices and domestic relations offices (which calculate, collect and distribute child support payments). The court also has oversees the specialty courts and diversion programs including veterans court, drug court and mental health court, The court oversees the Juvenile Court Judges Commission which advises on juvenile delinquency and placement, and the Office of Children and Families in the Courts, which advises on juvenile dependency and the foster care system.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

Under our system of checks and balances, I believe judges need to defer to the legislature and apply the law as written. I apply the laws fairly and evenly, without fear or favor, and I am not result-oriented. However, as a judge, I do not defer to the legislature on matter of constitutionality. The oath I took to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires me to uphold the pillars of democracy and protect the individual rights guaranteed by these documents. It is the role of the courts to protect against legislative overreach.

Is there a particular judge, past or present, whom you admire?

I admire former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg because she was a champion for rights of individuals and stood up for what she believed in.

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

Yes. I believe that judges should treat all people with respect. In our adversarial system of justice, one side will win a case and one side will lose. (In family law cases, often both sides think they lost because they did not get all of the marital assets, custody time or child support that they wanted.). However, everyone should leave the courtroom feeling like the judge listened to them and understood their position on the issues, even it the judge ultimately disagreed with them. A judge needs to understand the importance of the litigation for the parties who appear in court. and empathize with what they are experiencing in the court system.

Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?

Yes, The Pennsylvania Bar Association rated me "Highly Recommended" for Supreme Court in 2023, and for Superior Court in 2017,

How does your state’s supreme court serve as part of the state government’s checks and balances?

Under our system of checks and balances, the Supreme Court must defer to the legislature and apply the law as written unless that law is ambiguous or unconstitutional. If a law is ambiguous, the court must apply the rules of statutory interpretation to decide the case The Supreme Court has the final say on whether a law is unconstitutional, but the court can only rely on the arguments made by the parties in the case, and on issues that were properly preserved in the trial court. The court cannot act as both judge and lawyer.

Do you believe that Bar Association ratings are an accurate reflection of a judge’s ability?

Yes, This is a very intensive process that looks at the judges demeanor, temperament and legal acumen.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Vote ProChoice

Steel City Stonewall Democrats
14th Ward Independent Democratic Club (Pittsburgh)
Working Families Party
Lehigh Valley for All
Progressive Woman of Northeast Pennsylvania
Women the Future
PSEA (recommended candidacy)

Dauphin County and Beaver County Democratic Committees

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.

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