Judith Olson

Judith Olson

Republican Party

Pennsylvania Superior Court

Tenure

2010 - Present

Term ends

2030

Years in position

15

Compensation

Base salary

$247,188

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2019

Education

Bachelor's

St. Francis University, 1979

Law

Duquesne University School of Law, 1982

Contact

Official website

Judith Olson (Republican Party) is a judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. She assumed office on January 4, 2010. Her current term ends on January 7, 2030.

Olson ran for re-election for judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. She won in the retention election on November 5, 2019.

She was elected to a 10-year term on November 3, 2009, effective January 2010.

Olson ran for election to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2015. She won the Republican primary but was defeated in the general election.

Biography

Education

Olson received her undergraduate degree from Saint Francis University in 1979 and her J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law in 1982. She graduated second in her law school class. Olson and her husband, Joe, have two children.

Career

• 2010-2020: Judge, Pennsylvania Superior Court
• 2008-2009: Judge, Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County
• 2000-2008: Partner, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP
• 1990-2000: Attorney/founder, Sweeney Metz Fox Mcgrann & Schermer L.L.C.
• 1984-1998: Partner, Dickie, Mccamey & Chilcote, P.C.
• 1982-1984: Law clerk, Honorable Maurice B. Cohill, Jr.

Awards and associations

Awards

• 2011: North Hills School District Distinguished Alumni Award
• 2008: Earl G. Harrison Community Service Award
• 2005: Allegheny County Bar Foundation – Inducted as Fellow
• 2004: Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County – Inducted as Fellow
• 2004-2008: Named by Law & Politics Magazine as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer® in Business Litigation
• 2004: Named by Law & Politics Magazine as one of the Top 50 Female Lawyers in Pennsylvania
• 2004: Graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh –Class XX
• 1999: American Heart Association Volunteer of the Year Award
• 1999: Community Champion Award
• “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell

Associations

• 2007-2008: Member of board of governors
• 2007-2008: Chair of Federal Court Committee
• 2008: Member of ad hoc committee on Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Commercial Court Rules
• St. Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania, member of board of trustees
• American Heart Association—National Organization
• American Heart Association—Great Rivers Affiliate
• American Heart Association—Allegheny Division
• Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, past member of Diocesan Pastoral Council
• Saints John & Paul Catholic Church
• Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
• Operation Good Neighbor Foundation, past member of board of advisors
• Career Literacy for African American Youths (CLAAY)

Elections

2019

See also: Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2019

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Superior Court

Incumbent Judith Olson won election in the general election for Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Judith Olson (Nonpartisan)	100.0	1,461,332

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,461,332
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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, General Election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kevin M. Dougherty	18.5%	1,079,835
	Democratic	David N. Wecht	18.4%	1,070,568
	Democratic	Christine Donohue	18.2%	1,059,167
	Republican	Judith Olson	15.2%	887,409
	Republican	Michael A. George	13.6%	796,124
	Republican	Anne Covey	13.6%	795,330
	Independent Judicial Alliance	Paul P. Panepinto	2.5%	144,403
		Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes				5,832,836
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "Unofficial General Election Results," November 3, 2015

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Three seats, Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Judith Olson	22.1%	177,199
Michael A. George	21.7%	173,683
Anne Covey	20.2%	161,680
Cheryl Lynn Allen	13.9%	111,112
Rebecca L. Warren	11.7%	93,688
Correale Stevens Incumbent	10.5%	83,815
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes		801,177
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2015 Municipal Primary Unofficial Results," May 19, 2015

Recommendation

The Pennsylvania Bar Association highly recommended Olson during its second round of ratings, calling her a "keen legal thinker and the author of well-reasoned and well-written opinions."

Endorsements

• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Pro-Life
• Firearm Owners Against Crime
• Pennsylvania State Troopers Association
• Action of PA
• Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania State Lodge
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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.

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
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.

Pre-primary campaign finance, April 2015
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.

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.

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."

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.

2009

Superior Court: Judge Judy Olson (2009)

Olson was elected to one of four open seats on the Pennsylvania Superior Court in 2009. She said that one of her goals is to reclaim the public's trust in the judiciary: "A very critical issue is the lack of confidence that the public has in the court system. Everybody in the legal system, from the bar or the bench, has an obligation to try and regain that public trust."

Candidate	Incumbent	Party	Primary %	Election %
Judith Olson A	No	Republican	37.1%	15%
Sallie Mundy A	No	Republican	33.5%	13.7%
Paula Ott A	No	Republican		12.7%
Anne Lazarus A	No	Democratic		11.4%
Robert Colville	No	Democratic		11.4%
Templeton Smith	No	Republican	29.3%	11.4%
Kevin McCarthy	No	Democratic		11.2%
Teresa Sarmina	No	Democratic		10.9%
Marakay Rogers	No	Libertarian		2%

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Judith Olson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

2015

“	My judicial philosophy is rooted in the notion that we must adhere to the necessity of preserving the separation of powers of the three branches and to acknowledge the important role each must play in government. The judicial branch is charged with interpreting the laws enacted by the legislature. It is the job of a judge to review matters of law and not to act as a “superlegislature,” by imposing “judge-made” law in place of democratically elected officials. To do otherwise is to create a threat to the values of stability and predictability. Judicial restraint is the only judicial philosophy that preserves those values – values which are paramount to the proper maintenance of a majoritarian system such as our own. I also believe that all parties are equal in the eyes of the law and must be treated fairly and impartially. Every litigant is entitled to his or her day in court and must be treated with respect. In fact, the touchstone of my philosophy is respect. It is paramount that a judge respect the law, the legal system, the lawyers and the litigants.	”
—Olson's campaign website (2015)

Judicial philosophy

“	My judicial philosophy is rooted in the notion that we must adhere to the necessity of preserving the separation of powers of the three branches and to acknowledge the important role each must play in government. The judicial branch is charged with interpreting the laws enacted by the legislature. It is the job of a judge to review matters of law and not to act as a “superlegislature,” by imposing “judge-made” law in place of democratically elected officials. To do otherwise is to create a threat to the values of stability and predictability. Judicial restraint is the only judicial philosophy that preserves those values – values which are paramount to the proper maintenance of a majoritarian system such as our own. I also believe that all parties are equal in the eyes of the law and must be treated fairly and impartially. Every litigant is entitled to his or her day in court and must be treated with respect. In fact, the touchstone of my philosophy is respect. It is paramount that a judge respect the law, the legal system, the lawyers and the litigants.	”
—Judge Judy Olson

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