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Shanese Johnson
Shanese Johnson is a judge for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Johnson won the seat in the general election on November 7, 2017.
Johnson was a Democratic candidate for Philadelphia Municipal Court judge in Pennsylvania. Johnson withdrew prior to the primary election on May 16, 2017.
Johnson also ran for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in 2015. She was defeated in the Democratic primary on May 19, 2015.[1]
Biography
Johnson received an undergraduate degree in business management, with a minor in political science, from West Chester University. She earned a J.D. from Temple University in 1995.[2] Johnson is a family law attorney at the firm Shanese I Johnson & Associates, P.C. She practiced real estate law for a few years as well. She has also been an adjunct instructor of legal writing at Manor College.[3]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2011: Award of Service, Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia High School for Girls
- 2011: Rising Star, Super Lawyers
- 2008: Attorney of the Month, Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Indigent
- 2008-2013: First Judicial District Pro Bono Honor Roll
- 2005: West Chester University Drum Major for Justice Award[2]
Associations
- 2013-2015: Corresponding secretary, C.W. Henry PTA
- 2010: Chairwoman, Philadelphia Bar Association Family Law Section
- Board member, Bebashi, Inc.
- Member, Nicholas A. Cipriani Family Law Inn of Court
- Member, The Lawyers Club
- Member, Temple Law Alumni Association
- Member, Support Center for Child Advocates
- Member, Philadelphia High School for Girls Alumnae Association
- Member, Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia
- Member, National Bar Association
- Board member, Black Women’s Health Alliance of Philadelphia
- Member, National Coalition of 100 Black Women
- Member, 2000 African American Women
- Member, West Chester University Black Alumni Caucus
- Member, Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce
- Board member, Hope Charter School[3]
Elections
2017
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
- 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.
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary.
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.[5][6] 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.[5][7]
- 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.[5][8]
Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must:[5]
- 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.[8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedelection2015 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shanese Johnson for Judge, "Get to Know Shanese," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shanese I Johnson & Associates, P.C., "Biography," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Candidate Database," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
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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
