Wolf names two for Supreme Court
HARRISBURG - Gov. Wolf on Wednesday tapped a bipartisan duo - a law school dean and central Pennsylvania county judge - to fill vacancies on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
HARRISBURG - Gov. Wolf on Wednesday tapped a bipartisan duo - a law school dean and central Pennsylvania county judge - to fill vacancies on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Wolf said he will nominate Ken Gormley, dean and professor at Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, and the Thomas Kistler, president judge of the Centre County Court of Common Pleas to the bench.
"I am pleased today to announce two extremely qualified and distinguished individuals as my nominees to serve on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the highest court in the Commonwealth," said Wolf.
The vacancies were created by the recent retirements of Justice Seamus McCaffery, who departed following revelations of his role in a pornographic email exchange, and Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who stepped down after reaching the retirement age of 70.
The nominations of Gormley and Kistler, whom Wolf praised for their judicial temperments and high ethical standards, come following a series of court scandals: the conviction of Justice Joan Orie Melvin on corruption charges and the departure of McCaffery amid an email controversy that led to the dismissal of other state officials.
Wolf said in a news release that he reached his decision through a "collaborative process" involving Senate leaders.
The Senate must confirm the two nominees by a two-thirds vote. Both nominees agreed not to run for election in November.
Candidates of both parties are vying for three open seats for 10-year terms on the high court (the third seat is currently occupied by Justice Correale Stevens who was named by Corbett to fill Melvin vacancy and is running for a 10-year term.)
Gormley, a Democrat and Pittsburgh native who joined the faculty at Duquesne in 1994, is a prolific author and considered a national expert in constitutional law.
He wrote the bestselling book The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr, chronicling the scandals that nearly destroyed the Clinton presidency.
Kistler, a Republican, was elected in 1997 to the Court of Common Pleas in Centre County. As president judge he created a Child Acess Center which serves for the safe exchange of children in separated or divorced families in domestic violence cases.
Kistler won high praise from Senate Majority leader and fellow Centre County native Jake Corman, who said he was "dedicated to improving the community" and viewed his nomination as history-making for the county.
"His dedication to public service now leads him to follow in the footsteps of Centre County's only other Supreme Court Justice - Judge Roy Wilkenson," said Corman. "He will be a welcome addition to the Supreme Court."
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