Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:	7
Founded:	1722
Judicial selection
Method:	Partisan election of judges
Term:	10 years
Active justices
J. Michael Eakin  •  Ronald Castille  •  Thomas Saylor  •  Max Baer  •  Debra Todd  •  Joan Orie Melvin  •  Seamus P. McCaffery  •
Former justices

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was established by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1722 as a successor to a Provincial Appellate Court that had been established in 1684. It is the oldest continually sitting appellate court in North America.

Justices

Chief justice

The justice with the longest continuous service on the supreme court automatically becomes Chief Justice.

Ronald Castille is currently the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He was first elected to the court as a Republican in a partisan election in 1993; his current term expires in 2013.

Jurisdiction

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is an appellate court, with limited original jurisdiction. ^[1][2] Original jurisdiction is only in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, and quo warranto. ^[3] It meets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg.

Judicial selection

The Pennsylvania Supreme court consists of seven justices each elected to ten year terms. Supreme court judicial candidates may run on party tickets. The justice with the longest continuous service on the supreme court automatically becomes Chief Justice. Supreme Court justices, like other Pennsylvania judges, are subject to mandatory retirement when they turn 70 years old. After the ten year term expires, a statewide YES/NO vote for retention is conducted. If the judge is retained, he/she serves another ten year term. If the judge is not retained, the governor, subject to the approval of the State Senate, appoints a temporary replacement until a special election can be held. As of 2005, only one judge has failed to win retention. Justice Russell Nigro received a majority of "NO" votes in the election of 2005 and was replaced by Justice Cynthia Baldwin, who was appointed by Governor Ed Rendell in 2005.

Qualifications

A qualified candidate must be a member of the Bar of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and a citizen of the state.^[4]

Removal of justices

Caseloads

For more complete statistical information, refer to the reports on the Research and Statistics page on the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System website.

^[5]

Salaries

Justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are paid $186,450 annually, with the chief justice earning somewhat more. See our June 2011 article Pennsylvania Judiciary requests funding increase for underfunded courts for more information about current judicial pay rates.^[6]

History of the court

The Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which houses the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Interior of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Courtroom

The original Pennsylvania constitutions, drafted by William Penn, established a Provincial Court under the control of his British governors. The General Assembly, however, espoused the principle of separation of powers and formally called for a third branch of government starting with the 1701 Judiciary Bill. In 1722, the appointed British governor needed the House to raise revenues. House leaders agreed to raise taxes in return for an independent Supreme Court. Predating the Supreme Court of the United States by 67 years, Pennsylvania's highest court was established by the General Assembly on May 22, 1722. Interpreting the Pennsylvania Constitution, it was the first independent Supreme Court in the United States with the power to declare laws made by an elected legislative body unconstitutional. Under the 1874 Constitution until the Pennsylvania state constitution of 1968, Supreme Court justices were elected to 21 year terms. At the time, it was the longest term of any elected office in the United States.

Notable firsts

Composition and rules

Prior to 2002, judicial candidates in Pennsylvania were prohibited from expressing their views on disputed legal or political issues. But after a similar law in Minnesota was struck down as unconstitutional (Republican Party of Minnesota v. White), the Pennsylvania rules were amended and judicial candidates may now express political viewpoints as long as they do not “commit or appear to commit the candidate with respect to cases, controversies or issues that are likely to come before the court.” (PA Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 7 (B)(1)(c)).

See also

• News: Pennsylvania Supreme Court prepares to eliminate 40 district judges, February 27, 2012
• News: Pennsylvania Supreme Court to meet in Old City Hall for the first time in over 200 years, September 12, 2011

External links

• Pennsylvania Unified Court System page on the Supreme Court
• State of the Commonwealth's Courts, 2008

References

Election 2011

Candidate	Incumbency	District	Primary Vote	Election Vote
EakinJ. Michael Eakin   a	Yes	District 2, Division D		73.6%   a