Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction	Pennsylvania, United States except those cases which involve decisions of governmental agencies; public sector legal questions; actions to which the Commonwealth is a party other than criminal cases; or actions to which a not-for-profit, private corporation is a party, all of which are appealed instead to the Commonwealth Court.
Location	Harrisburg (headquarters); Philadelphia; Pittsburgh
Composition method	Statewide partisan election with possible retention at term expiration. Vacancies are filled via appointment by the Governor.
Authorized by	Penn. Const. Art. V § 3; 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 541-44
Appeals to	Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Appeals from	Court of Common Pleas
Judge term length	10 years
Number of positions	15
Website	Pennsylvania Courts
President Judge
Currently	Anne Lazarus
Since	January 7, 2024

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania is one of two Pennsylvania intermediate appellate courts (the other being the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania). It is based in Harrisburg.

Jurisdiction

The Superior Court hears appeals in criminal and most civil cases from the Courts of Common Pleas and on matters involving children and families.^[2] Most appeals are decided on the submission of briefs only. However, when the parties request oral argument, those sessions are usually heard by panels of three judges sitting in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, or Pittsburgh, but the court also hears some appeals "en banc," i.e., with nine judges.^[2] Sometimes, special argument panels sit in other counties around the Commonwealth. Although different panels of three judges may sit to hear appeals, there is only one Superior Court (that is, Pennsylvania is not divided into appellate territories).

Judges

Superior Court judges are elected in statewide elections. The term of a Superior Court Judge is 10 years. After serving 10 years, judges may hold their seats if they win a retention vote. Voters have the right to retain or reject (vote out of office) Superior Court judges in Pennsylvania. Superior Court judges must retire from active service at the age of 75. They may serve as Senior Judges though, as approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Judge^[3]	Born	Joined^[4]	Term ends	Mandatory retirement^[a]	Party affiliation	Law school
Anne E. Lazarus (President Judge)	(1952-11-12) November 12, 1952 (age 71)	January 4, 2010^[b]	2029	2027	Democratic	Temple
Mary Jane Bowes	(1954-07-18) July 18, 1954 (age 70)	January 7, 2002	2031	2029	Republican	Pittsburgh
Jack A. Panella	(1955-05-04) May 4, 1955 (age 69)	January 5, 2004	2033	2030	Democratic	Columbus
Judith Ference Olson	(1957-10-19) October 19, 1957 (age 67)	January 4, 2010	2029	2032	Republican	Duquesne
Victor P. Stabile	(1957-09-14) September 14, 1957 (age 67)	January 6, 2014	2033	2032	Republican	Dickinson
Alice Beck Dubow	(1959-03-25) March 25, 1959 (age 65)	January 4, 2016	2025	2034	Democratic	Pennsylvania
Deborah A. Kunselman	(1967-09-24) September 24, 1967 (age 57)	January 1, 2018	2027	2042	Democratic	Notre Dame
Carolyn H. Nichols	(1955-09-04) September 4, 1955 (age 69)	January 1, 2018	2027	2030	Democratic	Temple
Mary P. Murray	(1970-07-06) July 6, 1970 (age 54)	January 1, 2018	2027	2045	Republican	Duquesne
Maria McLaughlin	(1966-05-27) May 27, 1966 (age 58)	January 1, 2018	2027	2041	Democratic	Widener
Megan McCarthy King	(1969-12-08) December 8, 1969 (age 54)	January 6, 2020	2029	2044	Republican	Pittsburgh
Megan Sullivan	(1971-10-19) October 19, 1971 (age 53)	January 3, 2022	2031	2046	Republican	Temple
Jill Beck	(1979-10-16) October 16, 1979 (age 45)	January 1, 2024	2033	2054	Democratic	Duquesne
Timika Lane	(1972-10-05) October 5, 1972 (age 52)	January 1, 2024	2033	2047	Democratic	Rutgers
Vacant

^ Judges must retire by the last day (December 31) of the calendar year in which they reach the age of 75.^[5]
^ Elected President Judge on January 7, 2024.

Vacancy and pending nomination

Seat	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
–	Dan McCaffery	Elevation	January 1, 2024	–	–

Senior judges

Judge^[3]	Born	Joined^[4]	Party affiliation	Law school
Correale F. Stevens^[a], President Judge Emeritus	(1946-10-06) October 6, 1946 (age 78)	2016	Republican	Dickinson
James Gardner Colins^[b]	(1946-06-09) June 9, 1946 (age 78)	January 2, 2019	Democratic	Villanova
John T. Bender	(1948-11-06) November 6, 1948 (age 75)	January 1, 2024^[c]	Republican	Duquesne

^ Judge Stevens was a former Associate Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (2013–2016).
^ Judge Collins was a former judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (1984–2008; 2012–2019).
^ Served as Judge of the Superior Court from January 5, 2002–December 31, 2023. Became Senior Judge of the Superior Court on January 1, 2024.

References

^ "Judge Anne Lazarus Elected President Judge of Pennsylvania Superior Court" (PDF). January 2, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Learn". Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Superior Court Judges". Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.
^ ^a ^b "Pennsylvania Superior Court Ceremonial Sessions - Volume 3" (PDF). Historical Society of Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
^ "Constitution of Pennsylvania - Article V §16".

External links

[6] Judges must retire by the last day (December 31) of the calendar year in which they reach the age of 75.^[5]

[7] Elected President Judge on January 7, 2024.

[8] Judge Stevens was a former Associate Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (2013–2016).

[9] Judge Collins was a former judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (1984–2008; 2012–2019).

[10] Served as Judge of the Superior Court from January 5, 2002–December 31, 2023. Became Senior Judge of the Superior Court on January 1, 2024.

[1] "Judge Anne Lazarus Elected President Judge of Pennsylvania Superior Court" (PDF). January 2, 2024.

[:0-2] "Learn". Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved August 31, 2020.

[SCC-3] "Superior Court Judges". Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.

[HSC-4] "Pennsylvania Superior Court Ceremonial Sessions - Volume 3" (PDF). Historical Society of Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

[5] "Constitution of Pennsylvania - Article V §16".

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v t e State intermediate appellate courts in the United States
Alabama Civil Criminal Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Commonwealth Superior South Carolina Tennessee Civil Criminal Texas Utah Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming do not have intermediate appellate courts.