Four former governors of Pennsylvania have written a letter to the Wall Street Journal expressing their support for merit selection in the state.

U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III issued an order delaying action on a pending lawsuit concerning Pennsylvania’s mandatory retirement law for judges aged seventy.

Eight new court advocates have been sworn in to the Court Appointed Special Advocate program in Luzerne County. The program was created to safeguard the interests of abused and neglected children making their way through the Dependency Court, a branch of the Juvenile Court.

The Philadelphia Bar Association’s (“PBA”) Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention has rated ten Philadelphia judicial candidates as “recommended” and eight as “not recommended.” According to PBA Chancellor Kathleen Wilkinson, the PBA considers legal ability, experience, integrity, temperament, community involvement, and judgment when assessing the candidates.

The recent mandatory federal budget cuts known popularly as sequestration have begun to affect the operation of federal district courts throughout the United States. Courts across the country have announced furloughs and courthouse closures, according to a recent article in the Legal Intelligencer(subscription required).

Pennsylvania jury commissioners are seeking placement on next month’s primary ballots following a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in their favor. A Commonwealth Court judge will hear arguments Wednesday concerning the now complicated election circumstances.

Pennsylvania is one of the few states that allow sitting judges to earn additional income from corporate business while sitting on the bench. Of forty-seven full-time common pleas judges in Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks, Carbon, Monroe, and Schuylkill counties, three serve on the boards of banks, as reported by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued orders granting extraordinary relief in two law suits challenging Pennsylvania’s mandatory retirement age for judges. The court will hear Montgomery County Judge Arthur Tilson’s case in their May session in Harrisburg, along with the separate combined claim of Judges Driscoll, Moss, and O’Keefe.

Lycoming county is trying to develop alternatives to incarceration, in an effort to keep its prison population from swelling without impacting public safety.

Following Joan Orie Melvin’s resignation from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, talk has quickly started on the process of filling the vacant seat.