FYI, The title of the job is District JUDGE not "magistrate" and if Mr. Ceoffe wins he will need to resign from the Disruptive Properties Board. I am glad Aggie Brose is excited about the race. She was the lead opponent of the local District Judges both stepping into Pittsburgh Municipal Court and then the movement to have the BBI cases heard in the local offices and not in a central court downtown. I am a little disappointed on the job description by Mr. Levine. Much of the description is how it used to be years ago. The job today is intense and pressure packed. In addition to the responsibility in the local office, District Judges sit in Pittsburgh Municipal Court for hearings on all criminal charges by any police agency that occur in Pittsburgh, all homicide hearings that occur in the county as well as all juveniles that are charged as adults in the county. It is much more than the quaint job of years past.
Your information is not correct on the 05-3-10 Magisterial District Judge office ( the correct title, which prior was District Justice. There has not been an elected magistrate in Pennsylvania since the 50’s) Judge Zielmanski did not step down. Under the law in Pennsylvania when a Judge turns 70 (mandatory retirement age) in a judicial election year the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) must declare the office vacant. They forward the information to the Pa. Dept. of State and in turn they notify the county election board to place the office on the ballot. The law was put in place in the 80’s to cut down on Judicial appointments. If the age of the Judge is not known, it has often been overlooked by the general public as well as the election board until the notification by the Pa. Dept of State. It rarely happens in Common Pleas races because the slots are monitored by many Attorneys, but has happened many times in the past in District Judge races and some appellate court races .
Richard G. King, District Judge
Past President, Special Court Judges Association of Pennsylvania
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District Judge Richard G. King
Your information is not correct on the 05-3-10 Magisterial District Judge office ( the correct title, which prior was District Justice. There has not been an elected magistrate in Pennsylvania since the 50’s) Judge Zielmanski did not step down. Under the law in Pennsylvania when a Judge turns 70 (mandatory retirement age) in a judicial election year the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) must declare the office vacant. They forward the information to the Pa. Dept. of State and in turn they notify the county election board to place the office on the ballot. The law was put in place in the 80’s to cut down on Judicial appointments. If the age of the Judge is not known, it has often been overlooked by the general public as well as the election board until the notification by the Pa. Dept of State. It rarely happens in Common Pleas races because the slots are monitored by many Attorneys, but has happened many times in the past in District Judge races and some appellate court races .
Richard G. King, District Judge
Past President, Special Court Judges Association of Pennsylvania