Allegheny County Bar Association President Urges Voters to be Informed About Candidates for Local Judicial Races
Bar Association’s Judicial Vote 09 website provides information on judicial and retention elections
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — October 21, 2009. Kimberly A. Brown, president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, today urged voters to review available information about the upcoming judicial races in Allegheny County. The bar association recently went live with its www.judicialvote09.org website to help better inform voters about the November 3rd judicial races and the judicial merit retention election.
According to Brown, “Due to the importance of having qualified judges on the bench, we want to ensure that voters know that we have a website that provides information on both the local judicial races and the retention election. We know how confusing it can be when you enter the voting booth and are faced with a long list of judicial candidates from which to choose. Our goal is for voters to be informed voters on November 3rd, especially when it comes to the important local judicial races and the merit retention election. We feel that the website complements the efforts of the local media that has been publishing stories about the judicial elections.”
The bar association’s Judiciary Committee, had previously announced the following ratings for candidates for openings on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court; and openings on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
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Hon. Joan Orie Melvin
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Highly Recommended
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Superior Court of Pennsylvania
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Hon. Robert J. Colville
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Highly Recommended
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Kevin F. McCarthy
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Highly Recommended
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Hon. Judith Olson
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Highly Recommended
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Templeton Smith, Jr.
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Highly Recommended
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Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
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Linda S. Judson
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Not Recommended at This Time
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Hon. Patricia A. McCullough
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Not Recommended at This Time
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Barbara Behrend Ernsberger
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Unqualified
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Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
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Alexander P. Bicket
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Highly Recommended
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Philip A. Ignelzi
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Highly Recommended
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Hon. Joseph K. Williams, III
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Highly Recommended
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Hon. Susan Evashavik DiLucente
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Recommended
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Arnold I. Klein
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Recommended
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Michelle Zappala Peck
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Not Recommended at this Time
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Donald Walko
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Not Recommended at this Time
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The bar association also recently announced that its members had voted to recommend for retention the following judges from Allegheny County:
Pennsylvania Superior Court
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Judge Kate Ford Elliott
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Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
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Judge Dan Pellegrini
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Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
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Judge Kim Berkeley Clark
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Judge Robert J. Colville
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Judge Kim D. Eaton
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Judge Paul F. Lutty, Jr.
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Judge Jeffrey A. Manning
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Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski
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Judge Gene Strassburger
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“Our members understand the importance of having highly qualified and respected judges such as these fine jurists on the bench, and we encourage the residents of Allegheny County to vote ‘yes” for retention for all nine judges” said Brown.
Chartered in 1870 and headquartered in downtown Pittsburgh, The Allegheny County Bar Association is a professional organization with more than 6,600 member attorneys, judges, magisterial district judges, legal administrators and paralegals.
The Judiciary Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association is a non-partisan committee of 24 attorneys who have been elected by the more than 6,600 members of the bar association.
Contacts:
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Kimberly A. Brown, Esquire
President
Allegheny County Bar Association
412-394-2323
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Tom Loftus
Allegheny County Bar Association
412-402-6620
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