The election of four women to the Superior and Supreme courts in Pennsylvania is being celebrated as a milestone for women, but a vote earlier this month also highlighted the continuing challenge minorities have in seeking election to the Pennsylvania appellate ranks.
For instance, of the 10 candidates running for five open seats, only two were minorities. Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge John Younge, a black Democrat, was unsuccessful in his bid for the Superior Court. With the retirement of Superior Court Senior Judge Justin M. Johnson at the end of the year, there will be no minority male judges on the Supreme, Superior or Commonwealth courts in Pennsylvania.
