Russell M. Nigro | |
|---|---|
| Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court | |
| In office January 1, 1996 –January 2, 2006 [1] | |
| Succeeded by | Cynthia Baldwin [2] |
| Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas | |
| In office July 2,1987 –January 1,1996 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 23,1946 [3] |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Temple University (BBA) Rutgers University (JD) |
Russell M. Nigro (born March 23,1946) is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He first ran on the Democratic ticket in 1995. He ran for retention in 2005 but lost,thus making him the first Supreme Court Justice to lose a retention vote since such elections were first held in 1968. [4]
The ousting of Justice Nigro was the direct result of public anger over a pay raise for members of all three branches of state government,which the General Assembly passed without public notice or debate in the early morning hours of July 7,2005 and then-governor Ed Rendell quickly signed. Although Nigro was not a member of the state legislature,and so had not voted on the pay increase,executive and legislative elections would not be held until the following year,and so the public voiced its displeasure by denying retention to Justice Nigro. Nigro received strong support from southeastern Pennsylvania,including his native Philadelphia,but met strong opposition in southwestern and southcentral Pennsylvania where anger over the pay raise was greatest.
As of 2014,Nigro was serving as chair of Philadelphia County's Board of Revision of Taxes,presiding over real estate tax appeals. [5] Members of the BRT receive a salary of $70,000 for what the Philadelphia Inquirer has called a "part time" job. [6]
Governor Rendell nominated Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Baldwin to temporarily fill the vacancy through January 2008.
Edward Gene Rendell is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2001, as the 96th mayor of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2000, and as district attorney of Philadelphia from 1978 to 1986.
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 royal governor.
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The 2006 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006 and included the races for the Governor of Pennsylvania and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ed Rendell successfully ran for re-election. Pennsylvania's first female lieutenant governor, Catherine Baker Knoll, was also running for re-election.
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In the early morning hours of July 7, 2005, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed pay increases for state lawmakers, judges, and top executive-branch officials. The vote took place at 2 am without public review or commentary and Governor Ed Rendell signed the bill into law. The raise increased legislators' base pay from 16% to 34% depending on position.
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Michael F. "Mike" Gerber is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 148th Legislative District from 2005 to 2012. Gerber is currently a partner and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at FS Investments. President Joe Biden has designated Michael F. Gerber chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, Washington.
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.
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.
The "kids for cash" scandal centered on judicial kickbacks to two judges at the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, US. In 2008, judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were convicted of accepting money in return for imposing harsh adjudications on juveniles to increase occupancy at a private prison operated by PA Child Care.
Cynthia 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.
Kevin M. Dougherty is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Before his election in 2015, Dougherty had served on the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia since 2001, serving as an administrative judge of the trial division.
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.
The 2023 Pennsylvania elections took place on November 7, 2023, to fill judicial positions, allow judicial retention votes, and fill numerous county, local and municipal offices, the most prominent being the Mayor of Philadelphia. The necessary primary elections were held on May 16, 2023. In addition, special elections for legislative vacancies could be held at various times in 2023.
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