PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia Bar Association just released its 2021 list of recommended candidates for judge. The group spent hundreds of hours vetting candidates to help voters decide ahead of the election.
"Who is a judge matters," says Niki T. Ingram, chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention.
Every two years, the Association spends hundreds of hours investigating the backgrounds, references, careers and financials of individuals running for a position on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and municipal courts, as well as city-based candidates running for statewide appeals courts.
This year, 35 volunteers spent 500 hours investigating 28 candidates. They interviewed the candidates who were willing, as well as their colleagues, adversaries and judges they worked with.
"Philadelphia has a very diverse community, and who's on these courts impacts people's every day lives, from the criminal process to the civil process," Ingram said.
The Commission assigned one of three ratings to candidates — "highly recommended," "recommended" or "not recommended" — based on a list of 10 criteria, including legal ability, trial experience, mental and physical capacity, integrity, judgment and more.
"It serves to give voters insight as to who a candidate is and whether that person is — within the Commission’s view — fit for office," says Lauren McKenna, Esq., chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Over the past several years, the Bar Association has worked to increase the visibility of its judicial ratings through its grassroots Campaign for Qualified Judges. The campaign dispatched 100 volunteers at the polls in 2019 and this year will shift its focus to mail-in ballots and on social media and digital platforms to reach people during the pandemic.
Two years ago, the effort garnered 2.1 million digital impressions and 25,000 clicks to the website.
The Bar Association is hoping that voters use the recommendation as a baseline of knowledge before casting their ballot.
“It’s hard for people to know who are the people running for judge,” says Ingram. “Now they can look and see that someone has vetted these people and at least that’s a starting point.”
2021 PBA Judicial Recommendations
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Highly Recommended: Maria McLaughlin, Paula Patrick
Superior Court
Recommended: Timika Lane
Commonwealth Court
Recommended: Lori A. Dumas, Sierra Street
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
Highly Recommended: Chris Hall, Michele Hangley, Nick Kamau, Mark J. Moore, John R. Padova
Recommended: Wendi Barrish, Craig Levin, Cateria McCabe, Daniel R. Sulman, Caroline Turner, Betsy Wahl, Tamika Washington
Not Recommended: Terri Booker, Rick Cataldi, Sherrie Cohen, Maurice Houston, Patrick J. Moran
Philadelphia Municipal Court
Recommended: George Twardy, Greg Yorgey-Girdy
Not Recommended: Sherrie Cohen, Michael C. Lambert, Barbara Thomson
For more details on judicial ratings, go to ElectQualifiedJudges.com.