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Deborah D. Cianfrani
Deborah D. Cianfrani is a judge for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Cianfrani won the seat in the general election on November 7, 2017.
Biography
Cianfrani received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Cornell College in 1987. Below is a summary of Cianfrani's professional experience.[1]
- 1998-Present: Founding partner, Cianfrani Law, LLC
- 1990-1998: Trial attorney, Philadelphia Defenders Association[2]
Awards and associations
- Legal counsel, Healing Hurt People program of the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice
- Legal advisor, Veterans Multi-service Center[2]
Elections
2017
Pennsylvania held local judicial elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on May 16, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 7, 2017. Candidates and recently appointed judges of the Courts of Common Pleas must initially run in partisan elections. Subsequent terms are won through retention elections. Elections for the Magisterial District Courts are always partisan. Pennsylvania allows cross-filing for candidates running in partisan elections. Most candidates run in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.[3]
The following candidates ran in the general election for nine seats on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
| Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican |  Vincent Furlong Incumbent |
12.28% | 158,194 | |
| Democratic | Stella Tsai Incumbent |
11.55% | 148,795 | |
| Democratic | Lucretia Clemons Incumbent |
11.36% | 146,413 | |
| Democratic | Deborah Canty |
11.30% | 145,571 | |
| Democratic | Viktoria Kristiansson |
11.22% | 144,525 | |
| Democratic | Zac Shaffer |
11.05% | 142,417 | |
| Democratic | Deborah D. Cianfrani |
10.46% | 134,774 | |
| Democratic | Shanese Johnson |
10.43% | 134,376 | |
| Democratic | Mark B. Cohen |
10.35% | 133,374 | |
| Total Votes | 1,288,439 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election," accessed December 21, 2017 | ||||
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for nine open seats on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.[4]
| Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Stella Tsai Incumbent |
7.73% | 63,980 |
| Viktoria Kristiansson |
7.57% | 62,656 |
| Lucretia Clemons Incumbent |
5.68% | 47,015 |
| Deborah D. Cianfrani |
5.30% | 43,838 |
| Zac Shaffer |
4.79% | 39,633 |
| Deborah Canty |
4.74% | 39,239 |
| Shanese Johnson |
4.45% | 36,792 |
| Mark B. Cohen |
4.41% | 36,461 |
| Vincent Furlong Incumbent |
4.34% | 35,904 |
| Jennifer Schultz | 4.14% | 34,224 |
| Daniel Sulman Incumbent | 4.11% | 33,984 |
| Leon Goodman | 4.03% | 33,338 |
| Wendi Barish | 3.85% | 31,831 |
| Henry McGregor Sias | 3.81% | 31,526 |
| Rania Major | 3.67% | 30,393 |
| John Macoretta | 3.60% | 29,829 |
| David Conroy | 3.44% | 28,453 |
| Brian McLaughlin | 3.17% | 26,214 |
| Crystal Powell | 2.99% | 24,756 |
| Vincent Melchiorre Incumbent | 2.94% | 24,360 |
| Lawrence Bozzelli | 2.88% | 23,862 |
| Danyl Patterson | 2.00% | 16,582 |
| Terri Booker | 1.71% | 14,176 |
| Leonard Deutchman | 1.52% | 12,590 |
| Mark Moore | 1.49% | 12,305 |
| Jon Marshall | 0.92% | 7,584 |
| William Rice | 0.72% | 5,985 |
| Total Votes | 827,510 | |
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Primary Judge of the Court of Common Pleas," accessed May 16, 2017 | ||
2015
Cianfrani filed to run for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in 2015, but withdrew her candidacy on April 13, 2015.[5]
2013
- See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2013
Cianfrani ran unsuccessfully for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.[6] She lost in the Democratic primary on May 21, 2013, receiving 1.6 percent of the vote.[7]
Bar Association rating
Cianfrani was rated as "not recommended" by the Philadelphia Bar Association.[8]
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.[9][10] 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.[9][11]
- 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.[9][12]
Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must:[9]
- 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.[12]
See also
External links
|
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn.com, "Deborah Cianfrani," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Deborah Cianfrani for Judge, accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 23, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Candidate Database," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Withdrawal Listing," accessed May 20, 2015
- ↑ The Public Record, "Will Ethnic Vote Help Judicial Hopeful?" April 4, 2013
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2013 Municipal Primary, Unofficial Results"
- ↑ The Inquirer, "Philadelphia Bar Association backs 10 judge candidates," April 04, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 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
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
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