Sherman Toppin
Sherman Toppin was a Democratic candidate for Philadelphia Municipal Court judge in Pennsylvania. Toppin was defeated in the primary election on May 16, 2017.
Toppin ran for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in 2015. He was defeated in the Democratic primary on May 19, 2015.[1]
Biography
Toppin received an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the College of William & Mary School of Law.[2] Toppin's professional experience includes working as an attorney who runs and manages his own law firm and real estate brokerage and as an adjunct professor at the Temple University Real Estate Institute. He has also taught business law at Strayer University.[3]
Awards and associations
- Past president, Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia
- Board member, Mt. Airy USA
- Faculty presenter, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
- Former trustee, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church
- Former trustee, Impacting Your World Christian Center
- Former commission, Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission
- Former member, Philadelphia Bar Association Committee for Judicial Selection and Retention
- Former sequestrator, City of Philadelphia Revenue Department
- Member, University of Virginia Alumni Association
- Member, College of William & Mary School of Law Alumni Association
- Former community board member, Head Start Learning Tree
- Judge, Temple LEAP Moot Court Competition[3]
Elections
2017
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary election for District 1 of the Philadelphia Municipal Court.
| Philadelphia Municipal Court, District 1 Democratic Primary Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Marissa Brumbach |
38.00% | 78,443 |
| Matt Wolf |
25.39% | 52,424 |
| George Twardy | 15.31% | 31,612 |
| Sherman Toppin | 10.53% | 21,748 |
| Jon Marshall | 7.44% | 15,355 |
| William Rice | 3.19% | 6,584 |
| Betsy Wahl | 0.06% | 130 |
| Crystal Powell | 0.03% | 62 |
| Christian DiCicco | 0.03% | 55 |
| Write-in votes | 0.02% | 33 |
| Total Votes | 206,446 | |
| Source: Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, "Unofficial 100% Machine Results Available," accessed June 28, 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.[4][5] 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.[4][6]
- 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.[4][7]
Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must:[4]
- 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.[7]
See also
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedelection2015 - ↑ Sherman Toppin campaign website, accessed March 25, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedabout - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 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
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
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