Debra Todd | |
---|---|
Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court | |
Assumed office October 1, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Max Baer |
Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court | |
Assumed office January 7,2008 | |
Preceded by | Cynthia Baldwin |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Ellwood City,Pennsylvania,U.S. | October 15,1957
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Chatham University (BA) University of Pittsburgh (JD) University of Virginia (LLM) |
Debra McCloskey Todd (born October 15,1957) is an American lawyer who serves as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. [2] Prior to her election to the Supreme Court in 2007,she served as a judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania from 2000 through 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Born in Ellwood City,Pennsylvania,on October 15,1957,as Debra McCloskey,Debra Todd is a daughter of Harry and Blanche McCloskey. She and her sisters,Mary and Nancy,were reared in that Wayne Township borough,which is located in Lawrence County. Their father was a steelworker. [3]
She is married to Stephen K. Todd,a former attorney for the United States Army who retired from the U.S. Army Reserve at the rank of colonel,and who had been an attorney for U.S. Steel for thirty-one years before retiring in 2007 as vice president of law and environmental affairs. [4]
A 1975 graduate of Lincoln High School in Ellwood City, [5] Todd was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Chatham College in 1979,served on the Law Review in 1982 at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,where she earned her Juris Doctor that same year,and was then awarded a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2004. [6]
Todd worked in private practice from 1982 to 1999. During the fall of 1999,she ran for,and was elected to the position of,judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, [7] serving from January 17,2000,to December 31,2007. She was elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 2007. [8] [9]
On May 19,2017,Todd delivered the Charles Widger School of Law’s 2017 Commencement Address at Villanova University,and was also awarded the Villanova Law Medallion Award in recognition of her achievements. [10]
On October 1,2022,she became the first female chief justice of the state Supreme Court,replacing Max Baer who died a day earlier. [11] Roughly three weeks later,she issued her first major letter to Pennsylvania attorneys,in which she urged them to support pro bono legal work across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. [12]
Todd's list of publications includes: [13]
Todd has been the recipient of the following awards: [14]
Ellwood City is a borough primarily in Lawrence County,Pennsylvania,United States. With a small district extending into Beaver County,it lies along the Connoquenessing Creek just east of its confluence with the Beaver River. The population was 7,642 at the 2020 census. Ellwood City lies 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh and 8 miles (13 km) southeast of New Castle within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States,a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania began in 1684 as the Provincial Court,and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made official in 1722 upon its reorganization as an entity separate from the control of the colonial governor.
Seamus P. McCaffery is an American retired Justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to his election to the Supreme Court,he was a judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania,and prior to that was a municipal court judge in Philadelphia. He was the judge at "Eagles Court",an ad hoc court created to deal with unruly fans at Philadelphia Eagles games.
The Charles Widger School of Law is the law school of Villanova University,a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova,Pennsylvania. It was opened in 1953 and is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). Approximately 720 students study full-time in the J.D. program which offers more than 100 offerings including foundation courses,specialty offerings,drafting courses,clinical experiences,seminars,simulation courses and externships.
Joan Orie Melvin is a former justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In 2013,Melvin was convicted of several criminal counts related to her use of legislative and judicial staff to perform campaign work. She is a member of the Republican Party.
David Max Baer was an American judge who served as a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from the time of his election in 2003 until his death in 2022. He was elevated to the court's most senior position,chief justice,in 2021.
Thomas G. Saylor is a former chief justice and associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,and a former judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Statewide primary elections for various state offices were held in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on May 15,2007. Pennsylvania's general elections were then held statewide on November 6,2007.
Jack Anthony Panella is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. He previously served as the President Judge up until January 6,2024. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to his election to the Superior Court,he was a Judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County,Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania held statewide municipal elections on November 3,2009,to fill a number of judicial positions and to allow judicial retention votes. The necessary primary elections were held on May 19,2009.
The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania is the unified state court system of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Susan Peikes Gantman was a senior judge and president judge emeritus of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. She has been described by historians as "a tireless advocate on behalf of children and other victims of abuse."
Sallie Updyke Mundy is a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and a former judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Cynthia Anita Ackron Baldwin is an American jurist who was a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after serving sixteen years as a Pennsylvania County Court judge. Baldwin was the first African-American woman elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and the second African-American woman to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She retired from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2008. After her retirement from the Court,she became a partner with Duane Morris and served as the first General Counsel for the Pennsylvania State University.
Loretta Hogan Rush is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court since 2014. She has served concurrently as an associate justice since 2012.
Cheryl Lynn Allen became the first African-American woman to be elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. A Pittsburgh native and former Pittsburgh public school teacher,Judge Allen is a graduate of Penn State University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Christine L. Donohue is a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Prior to her election to that court in 2015,she was an elected member of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania,a seat she had held since 2008. She had also performed nearly three decades of service as a trial lawyer and litigator in Allegheny County,Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania held statewide elections on November 3,2015,to fill judicial positions,to fill a vacancy in the Pennsylvania State Senate,to allow judicial retention votes,and to fill numerous county,local and municipal offices.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)