State Bar Rates Candidates for Pennsylvania’s Appellate Courts

The Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Commission has posted the first of its endorsements of judicial candidates, in preparation for the May 21 primary election. The Bar’s review process consists of a questionnaire on the candidate’s legal background, an investigation by a three-member panel, and an interview with the full commission, after which the candidate is notified of the Bar’s decision. If the Bar chooses not to support the candidate, she or he is given an opportunity to withdraw before the endorsement becomes public. Pennsylvania is one of only two states that holds judicial elections in odd-numbered years. The other is Wisconsin, where three candidates are vying for a supreme court seat this spring.