As the May 20 primary approaches, Philadelphians have seen numerous stark reminders of the important role that an independent judiciary plays in our country.
Judges provide crucial checks and balances on the other branches of government. They play a critical role in protecting the rights of individual citizens, including the right to due process, freedom of speech and equal protection under the law. The impartiality of judges is essential to ensuring public trust in our justice system.
And their impact on each of us is far-reaching: Whether presiding over criminal trials in which we are a victim, defendant or witness, or deciding such diverse issues as custody, divorce, contractor disputes, employment disputes, adoption, wills and estates and personal injury cases, judges affect our daily lives in ways both profound and basic. Even if we are not a party to a case, a judge’s rulings in everything from zoning to education funding, product defects, disability rights, traffic safety, environmental protections, reproductive freedom, election fairness or the constitutionality of our laws and regulations will affect each and every one of us. Any initiative that is introduced by the Mayor or enacted by City Council also could end up in court.
Pennsylvania is one of the few states that elect all of its state court judges, meaning the voters get to shape what our judiciary will look like in the coming decades. These judges hold their positions for at least 10 years. For many, it becomes a lifetime appointment, because they continue to be retained in subsequent elections. While the names on that part of your primary ballot may not be as recognizable as others, judges have enormous power.
And correspondingly, so do you, as the voters electing these judges. But how is a voter to choose among a long list of candidates with shiny bright campaign signs and colorful advertisements, whose legal skills are intangible and hard for the average layperson to assess?
When the 36 members of the Commission vote to rate a candidate … it’s not a political endorsement, but rather an informed assessment of who is qualified to sit on the bench and — just as importantly — who is not.
The Bar Association is here to help
That’s where we come in. For more than 40 years, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention has been conducting rigorous, nonpartisan investigations to give voters the insight they need to make an informed decision.
When the 36 members of the Commission vote to rate a candidate as “Highly Recommended,” “Recommended,” or “Not Recommended,” it’s not a political endorsement, but rather an informed assessment of who is qualified to sit on the bench and — just as importantly — who is not.
The Commission evaluates each candidate according to 11 established criteria, including trial experience, knowledge of the law, temperament, community involvement and commitment to the improvement of the quality of justice. The Commission’s volunteer investigators spend hundreds of hours interviewing people familiar with a candidate – talking to friends, colleagues, adversaries and judges before whom the candidate has appeared. Then, after reviewing the investigative team report and the candidate’s questionnaire, the 36 members of the Judicial Commission meet and interview each candidate directly.
Following often intense deliberations, mindful that their vote can make or break a person’s candidacy, the Commission members vote by secret ballot as to whether the candidate should be recommended, highly recommended or not recommended. (To award the superlative rating of “highly recommended,” at least 80 percent of those voting must agree upon the candidate’s superlative qualifications.)
For this election cycle, the Commission clocked dozens of hours and worked with more than 100 volunteers to determine ratings for this year’s candidates. Like the investigators, the Commission members volunteer for this role — some by virtue of their position in the community and others by appointment. Sitting on this prestigious Commission are the President Judges of the Court of Common Pleas and Municipal Court, the Chief Public Defender, a representative of the District Attorney’s Office, the City Solicitor, Philadelphia Bar Association leadership, the President of the Barristers’ Association, representatives from the Hispanic, South Asian and Asian Pacific American Bar Associations and prominent lay members of the community.
Our volunteers are committed to this significant undertaking. They willingly give up time that could be focused on clients, litigants, family and friends because they believe it is critically important to elect the most qualified candidates to the bench.
The Commission finished its 2025 ratings of primary candidates in March, and its ratings are available at ElectQualifiedJudges.com (and in The Citizen’s 2025 primary election voter guide).
As much as we’d like to believe that all voters will check that webpage, we realize it’s too good to be true, and that’s why our work is not over. The Bar Association’s political action committee, the Campaign for Qualified Judges, is making the rounds at community events, ward meetings and other gatherings to spread the word about the Commission’s work and help voters to understand how the ratings were determined. The Campaign will also reach out to individual voters through social media, direct mail and by having volunteers stationed at the polls in May. Later this spring, the Commission also will reconvene to issue ratings for candidates seeking retention election in November.
Amid the deluge of news and information competing for your attention, it is imperative that voters show up for an “off-year” election, and that you don’t overlook these judicial races.
The power to decide who becomes a judge in Philadelphia is in your hands. Don’t make your selection blindly, and don’t sit this one out.
Marc Zucker is the 2025 Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention. Matt Olesh is 2025 Chair of the Campaign for Qualified Judges. You can see the full list of the Commission’s 2025 judicial candidate ratings at ElectQualifiedJudges.com.
The Citizen welcomes guest commentary from community members who represent that it is their own work and their own opinion based on true facts that they know firsthand.
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