Advocates urge depoliticization, ‘Yes’ vote for Pa. Supreme Court justices’ retention

This story originally appeared on WITF.

Majority control of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is on the line in the November 4 general election, when Republicans aim to oust three sitting judges elected as Democrats.

Supporters of Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht held a digital news conference on Wednesday afternoon to highlight their concerns about the Republican Party’s efforts to unseat them in the retention election.

Shanin Specter, a University of Pennsylvania law professor and son of former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, argued the judges deserve to retain their seats because they have ruled impartially on key issues and have earned the endorsement of the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Bar Association.

“They do not have an agenda except to do justice,” Specter said. “It’s my hope that they are resoundingly retained so as to send a message to those who would take down a judge or justice simply for partisan political advantage.”

Judges on Pennsylvania’s highest court serve 10-year terms before facing voters in a retention election. Multiple terms can be served by a justice, but every justice must retire once they reach the age of 75..

Democrats hold a 5-2 majority on the court. Several high-profile rulings in the past decade have motivated Republicans at the state and national level to target this year’s retention election, among them being the tossing out of a GOP-designed congressional map in 2018 and decisions that defended pandemic lockdowns and expanded the scope of the commonwealth’s mail-in voting law.

Republican activist Scott Presler, for example, has referenced those rulings while traveling to different sections of the state, encouraging voters to vote “no” on retaining Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht. As of last month, he said his group, Early Vote Action, has 28 paid workers running the campaign.

Pennsylvania is one of only seven states nationwide that vote in partisan judicial races.

‘The balance of power’

An abortion rights activist on Wednesday’s call said a Republican majority on the court would prompt new legal challenges to abortion rights in the state.

Nicole Chung, regional campaigns director at Planned Parenthood Votes, called the Pennsylvania Supreme Court the “last line of defense” for reproductive freedom in the state, after the U.S. Supreme Court nixed federal protections in 2022 when it overturned Roe v. Wade.

“The outcome of this election could shift the balance of power in this court and jeopardize these freedoms for millions of people,” Chung said.

Removing a Supreme Court judge through retention is rare — it’s only happened once, in 2005, when Justice Russell Nigro lost his retention bid to an anti-incumbent wave that was prompted by a late-night pay raise state lawmakers had passed for all three branches of government earlier that year.

If Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht are removed from the bench, Gov. Josh Shapiro could appoint temporary replacements. Those judges would need to be approved by the state Senate to serve until the next judicial election in 2027.

One voter rights activist on Wednesday’s call said she hopes the judicial retention races draw more people to the polls in what is typically a low-turnout municipal election cycle.

Kadida Kenner, founder of New Pennsylvania Project and co-chair of the state’s chapter of Why Courts Matter, said she, too, is supporting the judges facing a retention vote because of their impartiality

“Robes that these judges and justices wear are black, they’re not red, they’re not blue,” Kenner said. “Justices and judges wear black robes for the people, not for the political parties.”

Both the New Pennsylvania Project and Why Courts Matter are progressive organizations that typically back Democratic candidates and their issues.