By Stacy Brown | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — The theme for candidates on the campaign trail for Pennsylvania's open Superior and Commonwealth court seats could easily be the 1972 James Brown song, "Talking Loud And Saying Nothing."
Each hopeful has been hitting district after district statewide seeking support for their candidacy, but the rules of judicial campaigning have them marching to a tune that registered voters throughout the state cannot decipher easily.
"Unlike other campaigns for elected office, judicial candidates can't make promises. They can't promise the outcome of a particular case," said Tim Potts, founder of Democracy Rising PA, a Carlisle-based nonprofit, whose mission is working for transparency and public confidence in government.
Whereas presidential, gubernatorial, mayoral and other campaigns can take a position on an issue, candidates in judicial races find it difficult to get their message out, said Shira Goodman, deputy director of the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a nonprofit seeking to strengthen the justice system in Pennsylvania, in part, by reforming the judicial selection process.
"I think people really want to know if they are electing a smart ethical judge," Goodman said.
On the campaign trail, judicial hopefuls can tout their experience in the courtroom and launch political attacks against their opponents, but they must refrain from stating messages, such as being pro- or anti-abortion, Goodman said.
Canon 7B of the code of judicial conduct in the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania requires that candidates should not:
- “Make pledges or promises of conduct in office other than the faithful and impartial performance of the duties of the office.
- "Make statements that commit the candidate with respect to cases, controversies or issues that are likely to come before the court; or
- "Misrepresent their identity, qualifications, present position, or other fact."
Judicial candidates cannot personally solicit or accept campaign funds or solicit publicly stated support. However, candidates may establish committees to secure and manage campaign funds and to obtain public statements of support for the candidates, according to the canon.
They also can run political advertisements, hold news conferences to accept endorsements, tout qualifications, political affiliation and bar association ratings.
Democrat Kathyrn Boockvar, a Bucks County lawyer seeking election to the Commonwealth Court, said she has traveled to about 55 of the 67 counties in the state where she explains the different courts.
"I think 99 percent of the problem … is that people don't have a connection on how the courts impact their lives. I don't think many people understand the role of judges at this level," said Boockvar, who is opposed in the race by Republican Anne Covey, also a Bucks County lawyer.
While campaigning, Covey said she discussed her judicial philosophy: Judges are to interpret the law, not make law.
"Judges should not legislate from the bench. Judges should respect the power of the people to speak with their legislators," Covey said.
One of the state's two intermediate courts, Commonwealth Court seats nine judges. Just one seat is up for grabs in Tuesday's election. Litigation before the Commonwealth Court typically focuses on banking, insurance and utility regulation and laws affecting taxation, land use, elections, labor practices and workers compensation. Judges on the court serve 10-year terms and are paid $178,914 annually.
There also is a single vacancy on the 15-member Superior Court, the highest court in the state. That race pits Harrisburg attorney Vic Stabile, a Republican, against Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David Wecht, a Democrat.
This court reviews most civil and criminal cases appealed from the Courts of Common Pleas in the Commonwealth's 67 counties. Judges on the Superior Court also serve 10-year terms and are paid an annual salary of $178,914.
Stabile and Wecht are facing the same campaign restraints as Boockvar and Covey.
"The effect of judicial election is longer lasting than persons elected to other positions because decisions rendered by an appellate court judge outlive generations," Wecht said, referring to the case law the Superior Court provides.
"One of things you can comment on during the campaign is precedent, but you still can't say whether you are for or against that issue," Stabile said. "You can't say if you think a jury verdict, for instance, is excessive or not. As a candidate, you have to be careful."
Still, potential voters won't hear much from those seeking election to the bench, said Thomas Baldino, professor of political science at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre.
"A judge may be forced to recuse himself or herself from a case, because he appears prejudiced," said Baldino.
"Judges cannot campaign and discuss issues that might come before the bench. That pretty much takes everything off the table," he said.
Up until Oct. 27, Stabile has raised $198,000 in campaign cash; Wecht has raised $512,000; Boockvar has raised $352,000; and Covey, $343,000, according to the most recent figures available from the state campaign financing report at www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us.
