Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania

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Court of Common Pleas

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The Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas is a Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. It comprises the entire 11th Judicial District in Pennsylvania. It encompasses all of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Luzerne County includes Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton.

Judges

[1]

Senior judges

Kids for Cash

In February of 2009 two former Luzerne County judges, Mark A. Ciavarella, Jr. and Michael T. Conahan, were prosecuted for racketeering. The complaint alleged that the judges took millions of dollars in bribes from privatized prisons and in return imprisoned thousands of juveniles. Media reported that complaints regarding conduct of the court were raised for some years prior to the eruption of the scandal, but were routinely ignored.[2][3][4][5] On February 7, 2011 Conahan pleaded guilty to a single federal racketeering charge.[6][7] On February 18, 2011, Ciavarella was convicted on 12 counts of misconduct, including racketeering. He was acquitted on 27 counts, including extortion.[8]

Elections

See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections

Pennsylvania is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Pennsylvania, click here.

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.[9][10] 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.[9][11]

  • 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.[9][12]

Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must:[9]

  • 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.[12]

Election rules

Primary election

Though the state holds partisan elections, most candidates cross-file with the major political parties. If a candidate wins both the Republican and Democratic primary, he or she runs unopposed in the general election.

Retention election

All judges except those of the magisterial districts face retention elections following their initial term. After a judge has won an initial partisan election, subsequent terms are attained through retention elections. In retention elections, judges do not compete against another candidate, but voters are given a "yes" or "no" choice whether to keep the justice in office for another term. If the candidate receives more yes votes than no votes, he or she is successfully retained. If not, the candidate is not retained, and there will be a vacancy in that court upon the expiration of that term. This applies to all judges except magisterial district judges, who are always elected in partisan elections.[13][14]


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Citizens Voice, "Van Jura, Wetzel join county bench," March 20, 2010
  2. ↑ Stephanie Chen, CNN,"Pennsylvania rocked by 'jailing kids for cash' scandal," February 23, 2009
  3. ↑ FRANK MASTROPOLO, ABC "Judges Accused of Jailing Kids for Cash,"March 27, 2009
  4. ↑ Associated Press "Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash," 2/11/2009
  5. ↑ Debra Cassens Weiss "Ex-Judge to Plead Guilty in Kids-for-Cash Scandal; Is He ‘Singing Like a Bird’?" ABA Journal, Apr 30, 2010
  6. ↑ Associated Press "Former Pa. judge to go on trial in kickbacks case," February 6, 2011
  7. ↑ Associated Press "Former Pa. Judge To Go On Trial In Kickbacks Case," February 6, 2011 (dead link)
  8. ↑ Associate Press "Pa. Judge Guilty Of Racketeering In Kickback Case," NPR, February 18, 2011
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania," archived October 3, 2014
  10. ↑ The Morning Call, "Ban Cross-filing As One Step," January 24, 1985
  11. ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "In Re: Nomination Papers of Marakay Rogers, Christina Valente and Carl J. Romanelli," November 7, 2006
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
  13. ↑ Pennsylvania Courts, "How Judges Are Elected," accessed July 22, 2015
  14. ↑ Pennsylvania General Assembly, "Constitution of Pennsylvania, Article V, Section 15," accessed April 30, 2014
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