5 running for Pa.'s top court agree: Judicial races cost too much

Civil rights, imprisonment, and campaign money were on the table Wednesday in a forum attended by five judges running for the state Supreme Court.

The five are among a dozen candidates for three vacancies on the state's highest court. The race is shaping up to be a costly one. Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts reported that three candidates had each already raised more that $500,000 for their campaigns. At this point in the 2009 race, the largest amount raised was $167,730.

All five candidates agreed the increased money in the judicial race was a problem.

"I just think it is time to look at this area, because it's deadly to the courts' integrity," said John Foradora, a Jefferson County judge.

Philadelphia's Anne Lazarus, a Superior Court judge, said she felt the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision made it difficult to do much about the money coming into the campaign, and Dwayne Woodruff, an Allegheny County judge, said the need for money was keeping good people from running.

None of the candidates supported the suggestion to eliminate judicial elections in the state. Several said people deserved to decide for themselves who sat on the bench. Some recommended limitations on who could run, though.

"I also believe in judicial elections," Woodruff, a former Pittsburgh Steeler, said. "I also believe in qualifications. There needs to be a minimum set of qualifications."

Cheryl Lynn Allen, a Superior Court judge from Allegheny County, recommended nonpartisan elections to take politics out of the equation.

One of the vacancies on the high court came when Judge Seamus McCaffery retired last year after being embroiled in a controversy over pornographic e-mails. Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 and also retired last year. Justice Correale Stevens, appointed to the court by Gov. Tom Corbett in 2013, is seeking a full term.

The forum, hosted by a coalition of 50 nonprofits at the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia, showcased a collegial group of candidates who differed on abortion and the court's role in ensuring LGBT rights, but largely offered similar answers to questions. Four of the candidates on stage - Foradora, Lazarus, Superior Court Judge David Wecht of Allegheny County, and Woodruff - are running as Democrats. Allen is running as a Republican.

Judges uniformly said they supported efforts by the court to reduce prison populations, such as diversionary programs.

"If you build prisons, you get prisoners," said Lazarus, the only candidate from Southeastern Pennsylvania at the forum. "If you build schools, you get scholars."

Wecht staked out some of the most liberal positions, saying, "The law of the land is Roe v. Wade, and people should get used to it."

Allen said she was antiabortion and was wary of the courts' superseding the legislature in ensuring LGBT rights in law.

jlaughlin@phillynews.com 610-313-8114 @jasmlaughlin