Deborah Kunselman and Daniel McCaffery are running in the Democratic primary for one judgeship on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on May 16. The winner will face the Republican nominee—either Patricia McCullough or Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio—in the general election on Nov. 7. The filing deadline for the primary was March 7.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort, and justices run in partisan elections for 10-year terms. After a judge’s first term, he or she must run in a retention election to serve subsequent terms. The winner of this election will succeed Justice Max Baer (D), who passed away on Sept. 30, 2022. Baer’s term expired in 2023, and he could not run for re-election since Pennsylvania judges must retire at the end of the calendar year in which they reach 75 years of age.
The state supreme court can hear appeals from both statewide and local courts and assume jurisdiction over any case in the Pennsylvania court system. Peter Hall of the Pittsburgh City Paper wrote, “The Supreme Court hears appeals in cases involving unsettled areas of the law, reviews all death penalty convictions, and has played the decisive role in redrawing Pennsylvania’s congressional districts in recent years.”
