John H. Foradora
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John H. Foradora is a judge on the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania.[1] He was elected in 2001 and took office in January 2002.[2] His current term expires in 2021. Foradora ran for election to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2015 but was defeated in the Democratic primary on May 19, 2015.[3]
Elections
2015
- See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2015
Pennsylvania's judicial elections included a primary on May 19, 2015, and a general election on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates was March 11, 2015.
| Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Three seats, Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 David N. Wecht |
22.1% | 256,761 |
| Kevin M. Dougherty |
22.0% | 256,048 |
| Christine Donohue |
21.4% | 248,325 |
| Anne Lazarus | 16.3% | 189,127 |
| Dwayne D. Woodruff | 11.7% | 136,127 |
| John H. Foradora | 6.6% | 76,190 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes | 1,162,578 | |
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2015 Municipal Primary Unofficial Results," May 19, 2015 | ||
Recommendation
Foradora was recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which cited his broad experience and his "in-depth understanding of substantive and procedural law."[4] He was also recommended by the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and the Fraternal Order of Police.[5]
Race background
Three open seats were up for election on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2015. Going into the primary, there were 12 candidates running for the court. One open seat was the result of the retirement of Chief Justice Ronald Castille in December 2014. The other two seats were made vacant by resignations. In May 2013, Justice Joan Orie Melvin resigned after her conviction for campaign corruption. The second resignation occurred in October 2014, when Justice Seamus P. McCaffery left the court due to both his implication in an FBI investigation involving the exchange of referral fees between his wife and several law firms, and his involvement in a scandal wherein sexually explicit emails were forwarded from his personal email account to court employees.
Justice Correale Stevens was appointed to the bench by Governor Tom Corbett (R) in June 2013 to replace Joan Orie Melvin. He ran unsuccessfully in 2015 to keep his seat on the court.[6]
Campaign finances in the primary
May reporting period
The candidates for the May 19 primary had $2,127,498.74 in cash on hand as of the last pre-primary reporting period. Michael A. George (R) had the most cash on hand at $497,325.16, while Rebecca L. Warren (R) had the lowest total at $2,574.97. The biggest contribution during this reporting period was $50,000 from Ronald Caplan, president of PMC Property Group, to Democratic candidate Kevin M. Dougherty.
| Pre-primary campaign finance, May 2015[7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Cash on hand ($) | Highest contribution ($) | Contributor(s) |
| Michael A. George |  Republican |
497,325.16 | 5,000 | Friends of Rich Alloway |
| David N. Wecht |  Democratic |
450,877.64 | 20,000 | Fairness PA |
| Kevin M. Dougherty | Democratic |
422,421.91 | 50,000 | Ronald Caplan, President, PMC Property Group |
| Anne Lazarus | Democratic |
224,663.64 | 5,000 | Fairness PA, Alan Ominsky |
| Anne Covey | Republican |
149,229.72 | 25,000 | Anthony & Catherine Misitano |
| John H. Foradora | Democratic |
137,130.66 | 10,000 | Monica Mitchell |
| Judith Olson | Republican |
111,688.92 | 25,000 | PA Future Fund |
| Christine Donohue | Democratic |
53,299.01 | 10,000 | Carpenters PAC of Philadelphia & Vicinity |
| Dwayne D. Woodruff | Democratic |
42,129.39 | 5,000 | Franco Harris, Former player, Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club |
| Correale Stevens | Republican |
18,777.49 | 20,000 | Alan H. Potamkin |
| Cheryl Lynn Allen | Republican |
17,380.23 | 10,000 | Fairness PA |
| Rebecca L. Warren | Republican |
2,574.97 | 500 | John Kasha |
April reporting period
Three candidates reported campaign receipts exceeding $500,000 in finance reports filed on April 7. Kevin M. Dougherty (D) took the cash-on-hand lead with $584,666.22 in the bank, followed by David N. Wecht (D) at $546,220.24 and Michael A. George (R) at $508,459.63. Eight of the nine remaining primary candidates totaled approximately $898,000 on hand by early April, with Rebecca L. Warren (R) having a negative cash balance. The fundraising advantage through March rested with Democratic candidates, who totaled $1.94 million on hand compared to $595,000 for Republican candidates.[8]
| Pre-primary campaign finance, April 2015[9] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Cash on hand ($) | Highest contribution ($) | Contributor(s) |
| Kevin M. Dougherty | Democratic |
584,666.22 | 100,000 | Local Union #98 I.B.E.W. Committee On Political Education |
| David N. Wecht | Democratic |
546,220.24 | 25,000 | Daniel Berger, Attorney |
| Michael A. George | Republican |
508,459.63 | 500,000 | Gary Lowenthal, Founder, Boyds Bears |
| John H. Foradora | Democratic |
391,074.05 | 100,000 | John H. Foradora |
| Anne Lazarus | Democratic |
262,093.08 | 75,000 | Anne Lazarus |
| Christine Donohue | Democratic |
184,727.00 | 5,000 | Commonwealth Heritage PAC, I.B.E.W. Local 5, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel and 13 individual donors |
| Anne Covey | Republican |
56,540.38 | 25,000 | PA Future Fund |
| Correale Stevens | Republican |
44,101.58 | 5,000 | Pennsylvania Society of Physicians Assistants, Gillespie, Miscavige, Ferdinand & Baranko LLC and four individual donors |
| Dwayne D. Woodruff | Democratic |
29,514.80 | 5,000 | Arthur J. Rooney II, President, Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club |
| Cheryl Lynn Allen | Republican |
17,135.00 | 10,000 | Eldora Ellison, Retired |
| Judith Olson | Republican |
842.06 | 1,000 | Carl G. Grefenstette, Director, Hillman Foundation |
| Rebecca L. Warren | Republican |
-2,668.35 | 5,000 | Rebecca L. Warren |
April 8 candidate forum
A candidate forum at the Free Library of Philadelphia on April 8 showcased candidate concerns over the influence of money in judicial elections. Five candidates participated in the forum: Anne Lazarus (D), John H. Foradora (D), David N. Wecht (D), Dwayne D. Woodruff (D) and Cheryl Lynn Allen (R). All of the candidates at the forum argued that more campaign cash presented issues for judicial races, though none believed that eliminating elections would be the right solution. Foradora argued that campaign cash potentially damages the court's integrity, while Woodruff suggested that higher finance requirements presented a barrier to entry for qualified candidates. Allen advocated for nonpartisan elections as a counterweight to increasing partisanship on the court.[10]
Failed nominations
In February 2015, Governor Tom Wolf (D) nominated both Ken Gormley, a law professor for the Duquesne University School of Law, and Judge Thomas Kistler of the Centre County Court of Common Pleas. However, after a Christmas email sent by Kistler and a halt to confirm Gormley, Wolf said he planned no further nominations to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.[11]
Kistler asked that his nomination be withdrawn after a report surfaced of a racially insensitive e-greeting sent out by Kistler to friends in 2013. The e-greeting depicted a black couple, with the male wearing prison garb behind a glass window and his female visitor speaking to him via a jailhouse phone. The caption attached to the e-greeting said, "Merry Christmas from the Johnsons," and Kistler sent the greeting with a subject heading of "Best Christmas card ever."[12]
Gormley's nomination came under scrutiny when reports of harassment complaints filed in 2006 against Gormley were circulated among the Senate Judiciary Committee. An internal Duquesne University report, which had been cited in a lawsuit filed against Gormley, recommended that Gormley not supervise women because he had shared "an unsubstantiated rumor" regarding a female professor. The suit was later settled by the female professor and the university.[12]
2011
Foradora was retained to the court of common pleas with a "yes" vote of 84.3 percent.[13]
- See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2011
Campaign themes
2015
| “ |
Judge John H. Foradora has been turning conventional wisdom on its head since he was first elected to the bench. Judge Foradora has always taken on big challenges, has never shied away from the tough cases. And he isn’t shying away from what it takes to clean up the PA State Supreme Court. As President Judge in Jefferson County, there are many things Judge Foradora is not. According to the Feb. 5 editorial in The Courier-Express of DuBois: “He is not an appellate court jurist. He is not a big-city jurist. He is not a ‘regular’ in Democratic Party machinations,” the editorial said. Judge Foradora will not cave to insider political pressure, because he’s not a political insider. What he is, is a judge, who rules according to the law and you can always trust that. [14] |
” |
| —Foradora for Supreme Court (2015)[15] | ||
Education
Foradora earned his undergraduate degree from Juniata College and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.[16]
Career
- 2002-2021: Judge, Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas
- 1997-2002: Partner, Pontzer & Foradora
- 1996-1997: Partner, Foradora & Forodora
- 1995-1996: Associate, Law Offices of John R. Ferman
- 1992-1995: Assistant public defender, Jefferson County
- 1992-1995: Associate, Fernan, Whitney and Mason
- 1991-1992: Law clerk, Judge Gordon J. Daghir[2]
Awards and associations
- Member, Strategic Planning Workshop of the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission
- President judge liaison, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania
- Second vice-president, State Conference of Trial Judges
- Member, Sons and Daughters of Italy
- Member, Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
- Member, Safari Club International
- Member, Pennsylvania Farmer’s Union[17]
- First Democrat ever elected President Judge of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania[18]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Pennsylvania Courts, "Common Pleas Judges," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pennsylvania Bar Association, "John Foradora questionnaire," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedelection2015 - ↑ Pennsylvania Bar Association, "Judicial Evaluation Commission Releases 2015 Judicial Ratings," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Crowdpac.com, "John Foradora," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ TribLive.com, "Much at stake as 16 vie for historic 3 vacancies on Pa. Supreme Court," January 11, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Online Reporting," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ TribLive, "3 candidates for Pennsylvania Supreme Court have more than $500k on hand for primary election," April 7, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Online Reporting," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Philly.com, "5 running for Pa.'s top court agree: Judicial races cost too much," April 8, 2015
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Senate GOP may not fill 2 vacancies on Pennsylvania’s high court," February 24, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Philly.com, "Two Supreme Court nominees under fire," February 22, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Unofficial Election Results - Court of Common Pleas, Retention"
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Foradora for Supreme Court, "John's Story," accessed April 26, 2015
- ↑ Martindale, "Judge Profile: John H. Foradora," accessed June 24, 2013
- ↑ Judge Foradora for Justice Supreme Court, "John's Story," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ John Henry Foradora, President Judge, Jefferson County, "Bio," accessed August 24, 2015
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
