The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Scranton Times-Tribunehave strongly endorsed Merit Selection of Pennsylvania appellate judges in a pair of editorials published this weekend.

New legislation proposes a constitutional amendment that would create an Appellate Court Nominating Commission designed to effectively evaluate judicial candidates and present a selective list of the most qualified candidates to the governor. Candidates would then require senate confirmation and ultimately stand before the voters in nonpartisan uncontested retention elections.

The role of federal magistrate judges in Pennsylvania is growing as the Middle and Western districts of Pennsylvania implement additional procedures to facilitate expanded opportunities for parties to use magistrate judges in civil trials.

PMC and PMCAction praised Senate sponsor Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) and co-sponsor Sen. Richard Alloway, II ( R- Adams/Franklin/York ) for their leadership on creating a better system for selecting appellate judges for all Pennsylvanians. See the press release issued by Sen. Williams here

Jury selection in the trial of suspended Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin and her sister Janine Orie begins today in Pittsburgh.

Fayette County has two new openings on the bench due to the retirement of Judge Ralph Warman and Judge Gerald Solomon.

Chief Judge J. Curtis Joyner of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania plans to step down and assume senior judge status, leaving the chief position to U.S. District Judge Petrese Tucker, who will be the Eastern District's first woman Chief Judge.

Responding to reports of ticket-fixing and favoritism within the Philadelphia Traffic Court, the Republican leader of the Pennsylvania state Senate, Dominic Pileggi of Delaware County, is developing a proposal to abolish the Court and transfer its authority to Municipal Court.

Lancaster County is taking steps to reduce the costs of jury service.

Attorneys for suspended Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin have filed a King’s Bench petition in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court requesting that her colleagues find that District Attorney Stephen Zappala acted unconstitutionally in prosecuting her.