While the state Supreme Court and appellate courts make decisions that end up in headlines more often, and election coverage often centers on those higher-profile races, the Court of Common Pleas can have the most impact on people’s lives, Gross said. Though the idea of electing judges raises alarm among good government advocates, Widener University law professor and election law expert Michael Dimino said it’s no worse than any other system of selecting judges. She stressed the importance of protocols that guide judges to recuse themselves from cases where there may be a conflict of interest. The Court of Common Pleas is the bedrock of the state’s judiciary, and these transactions shape an election that will put in place almost a quarter of Allegheny County’s Common Pleas bench.ĭeborah Gross, the president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, said donations in judicial races are “very dangerous” due to the possibility of influencing a judge’s decisions.
But judicial elections are unlike legislative or executive races in that candidates can raise money through campaign committees but they cannot personally ask for donations. In Pennsylvania, judges are chosen in partisan elections that are flooded with cash like any executive or legislative contest. Jessel Costa’s campaign raised more than $314,000 across the primary and general election campaigns.Ī political action committee tied to Jay Costa loaned $140,000 to Jessel Costa’s campaign, and the senator took to the streets and to Facebook to stump for his son on a few occasions in the spring. Support from his father, state Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, was instrumental in funding Jessel Costa’s bid for judgeship. Local elected officials made many donations in the race, headlined by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s campaign giving $25,000 to incumbent judge Elliot Howsie’s campaign.Īnd then there’s Jessel Costa, a criminal defense attorney who comes from a family of elected officials.
0 kommentar(er)
