Women rise in state courts
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share thisFor nearly two decades women have graduated from U.S. law schools in roughly the same numbers as men. Yet they have not risen through the ranks of the profession in the same proportion. According to a survey by the National Association of Women Lawyers, for example, women comprise just 16 percent of the equity partners in the nation's largest law firms, 15 percent of those firms' management committees and 6 percent of their managing partners.
It was obvious in Pennsylvania on Tuesday that voters share none of the big law firms' reticence about advancing women to the highest levels of the court system.
Voters in Lackawanna County elected Margaret Bisignani Moyle to a new judgeship, while voters in Luzerne County elected Tina Polachek Gartley to one of two open seats.
In Western Pennsylvania, two counties elected their first women judges. Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon won a judicial seat, as did attorney Linda Fleming in Cambria County.
Statewide, Republican candidates swept the decided appellate court races, but their party affiliation might not have been as significant as their gender. Women won or were ahead in six of the seven races.
Judge Joan Orie Melvin of the Superior Court won an open Supreme Court seat. Attorney Patricia McCullough won a seat on the Commonwealth Court. Allegheny County Judge Judy Olson and Tioga County attorney Sallie Mundy won Superior Court seats. Judges Paula Ott of Chester County and Anne Lazarus of Philadelphia were ahead in the races for the other two seats.
Election of so many women judges is a certain sign of social progress. It remains to be seen whether the trend bounces back into the halls of the nation's most powerful law firms.
Voters paying attention
The results of the judicial retention election in Luzerne County showed that scandal-weary voters were paying attention.
In addition to selecting replacements for disgraced former Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan, voters also were asked to decide whether to retain incumbent Judges Peter Paul Olszewski and Thomas F. Burke Jr.
Neither judge had been implicated in the "cash for kids" scandal, and there was some question whether voters would adopt a "throw them all out" attitude.
Several weeks ago a photo emerged of Judge Olszewski partying at a Florida condo with a convicted drug dealer and one of the disgraced former judges. That seemed to prompt voters to dismiss Judge Olszewski while they retained Judge Burke.
If there is an upside to the Luzerne County scandal, it's that it seems to have made voters more aware, and more demanding.
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