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Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice vacancy (September 2022)
| Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Baer vacancy |
| Date: September 30, 2022 |
| Status: Seat vacant |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Daniel D. McCaffery |
| Date: November 7, 2023 |
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer's judicial service ended on September 30, 2022, upon his death. Justice Debra Todd was selected to serve as chief judge of the court as its most senior member.[1][2] The vacancy was filled with an election on November 7, 2023.[3] The primary was May 16, 2023. The filing deadline was March 7, 2023.
At the time of the vacancy under Pennsylvania law, the governor appoints a successor to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim justices would be required to stand for election at the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.[4]
Then-governor Tom Wolf did not nominate a candidate to replace Baer by the tenth month before the next scheduled general election, so the seat remained vacant. The general election was held on November 7, 2023.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the election.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2022.
The appointee
- See also: Daniel D. McCaffery
Daniel D. McCaffery graduated from Father Judge High School in 1982. McCaffery served in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 1986 and the U.S. Army Reserve from 1986 to 1989.[5] He earned a B.A. and J.D. from Temple University in 1988 and 1991, respectively.[5][6]
McCaffery's career experience includes working as an attorney with Friedman & Schuman P.C. and as counsel with the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee. He has been affiliated with the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Montgomery Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Brehon Law Society, and the Philadelphia Emerald Society.[5][6]
Election
The vacancy was filled with an election on November 7, 2023.[3]The primary was May 16, 2023. The filing deadline was March 7, 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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. | ||||
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
At the time of the vacancy under Pennsylvania law, the governor appoints a successor to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim justices would be required to stand for election at the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.[4]
Since no nominations were made, the election was held during the following general election to fill the seat.
Media coverage
This section includes excerpts from articles about the election process of a new justice to fill the vacancy.
- Kent M. Wilhelm, With Pa’s highest court depleted, Shapiro, GOP Senate leaders let voters down | Bruce Ledewitz (April 10, 2023): "A new justice will be elected on Nov. 7 to fill the vacant seat and will take office in January 2024. Cases that have been put off because of an even split on the court can be addressed then."[7]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Justices
Following Baer's death, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Kevin Brobson | Elected in 2021 | |
| ■ Sallie Mundy | Appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) in 2016 | |
| ■ Kevin M. Dougherty | Elected in 2015 | |
| ■ David N. Wecht | Elected in 2015 | |
| ■ Christine Donohue | Elected in 2015 | |
| ■ Debra Todd | Elected in 2007 |
About the court
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Debra Todd. The court was established by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1722 as a successor to the Provincial Court established in 1684.[8] It is the oldest appellate court in the United States.[9]
As of January 2024, five judges on the court were elected in partisan elections as Democrats and two judge were elected as Republicans.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court meets in the Pennsylvania Judicial Center, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
About Chief Justice Baer
- See also: Max Baer
Chief Justice Baer was first elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2003.
Prior to his service on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, he was an administrative judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. From 1980 to 1989, he worked as an attorney in private practice, and from 1975 to 1979 he was a deputy attorney general with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.[5]
Baer earned a bachelor of arts from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971. In 1975, he graduated with a J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law. From 1985 to 1986, he attended Robert Morris College for credits in the masters of tax program.[5]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2022
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2022
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2022. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Passing of Chief Justice Max Baer," October 1, 2022
- ↑ Phillyburb.com, "'She listens with her heart': Ellwood City native installed as chief justice of Pa.," accessed January 25, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pennsylvania Capital-Star, "With Pa’s highest court depleted, Shapiro, GOP Senate leaders let voters down | Bruce Ledewitz," accessed May 3, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "Judge Daniel D. McCaffery," accessed April 4, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Friedman & Schuman Website - Daniel D. McCaffery Bio
- ↑ Pennsylvania Capital-Star, "With Pa’s highest court depleted, Shapiro, GOP Senate leaders let voters down | Bruce Ledewitz," accessed May 3, 2023
- ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "A Brief History of the Courts of Pennsylvania," accessed September 25, 2019
- ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "Supreme Court of Pennsylvania," accessed September 25, 2019
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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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