Legal News

Evaluation Commission Recommends Ford Elliot and Pellegrini for Retention

By Brian Harris

By Peter Hall
Of the Legal Staff

The Pennsylvania Bar Association?s Judicial Evaluation Commission on Friday recommended Superior Court Pennsylvania President Judge Kate Ford Elliott and Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini for retention.

Ford Elliot and Pellegrini are the only appellate court judges facing retention this November. Former Superior Court Judge Maureen Lally-Green was scheduled to face voters this year, but she resigned in July to take an outreach job with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

In its assessment of Ford Elliot, who has been a Superior Court judge since 1990, the commission noted she is known for her superior intellect and work ethic, which led to her election as president judge in 2006.

?Notwithstanding her assumption of administrative responsibility for the court, her opinions continue to be consistently well-written, demonstrating thorough and impartial legal analysis of both the substantive and procedural issues,? the commission said.

?Despite maintaining an extensive case load in a heavily overburdened court, the Candidate has demonstrated a long-term commitment to significant participation in legal education of both lawyers and judges and in numerous civic and law-related activities,? the commission said.

Prior to his election to the Commonwealth Court in 1990, Pellegrini worked in the Pittsburgh Law Department and served as city solicitor, the commission noted.

?This experience provided him with a caseload that mirrored the types of cases that come before the Commonwealth Court. The Candidate has both a theoretical and practical understanding of the law and its historical origins. He is viewed as bright, scholarly and energetic,? the commission said.

The Judicial Evaluation Commission is a panel of lawyers and lay people sponsored by the PBA to vet candidates for election or retention to statewide judicial offices.

The commission?s ratings are based on interviews with the candidates and judges and lawyers who have worked with the candidates in addition to a review of opinions by the candidate and responses to a questionnaire completed by the candidate.

The commission?s ratings for all judicial candidates are available at www.pavotesmart.com.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on September 04, 2009 (boomark / email).