General Election: Judge Matthew Wolf Runs for Commonwealth Court

Candidate: Judge Matthew Wolf

Court: Commonwealth

Party: Democrat

Pennsylvania Bar Association rating: Recommended

The following has been edited lightly for length and style.

The Legal Intelligencer: How would you describe your judicial philosophy?

Judge Matthew Wolf: Be fair and equitable in the administration of justice.

The Legal: What makes you the best candidate for the role?

Wolf: The Commonwealth Court is both an appellate and trial court. I have 25 years of trial and appellate experience (with three years of that being on active duty in the U.S. Army). Plus, I will have six years of judicial experience, having been elected as a Judge in 2017. As an attorney I have tried cases, picked juries and received verdicts. I have administrative trial experience. I have federal trial experience. I have county trial experience. I have experience on appeals in both state and federal courts.

As a judge I have presided over around a thousand trials. As a judge advocate activated in the U.S. Army Reserve for three one-year tours in 2006, 2007 and then 2008, each year at a different major command headquarters, I practiced military law among great soldiers. I served in Iraq with Multi-National Corps-Iraq, in Virginia with the Military Intelligence Readiness Command, and in Afghanistan with the Combined Security Command—Afghanistan. I was a rule of law adviser to the Afghan National Police. I received the Bronze Star Medal for my service in Iraq. I am the best candidate because of my experience and my public service commitment, and I am the only candidate with judicial experience and trial and appellate experience as an attorney.

The Legal: What is the greatest threat to the practice of law or problem the profession faces?

Wolf: Those who would undermine the rule of law.

The Legal: What does your party membership say about you and your legal outlook?

Wolf: I am a Democrat. I was doing civil rights work the entire time I was practicing law, mostly representing women in sexual harassment cases. My party membership is consistent with my legal practice and the focus on equity that I have exhibited as a judge managing the Philadelphia Municipal Court Civil Division as supervising civil judge since 2020.

The Legal: Do you think courts in Pennsylvania have a perception problem when it comes to appearing partisan or polarized? If so, what would you do to combat this?

Wolf: With rare exceptions I do not believe that there is a general problem of partisanship or polarization.

The Legal: Several CLEs and bench-bar panels have recently addressed the growing phenomenon of distrust in the courts. In your view, how has distrust in the judiciary created challenges for the bench, and how should judges respond?

Wolf: I think the judiciary is the most trusted branch of the government. As long as we follow the rule of law, judges should be held in high regard.

The Legal: What factors matter in deciding when recusal is necessary, and would you recuse yourself if a campaign contributor were involved in litigation as a party or attorney before you?

Wolf: I would follow Pennsylvania’s judicial ethics. The Pennsylvania Code of Judicial Conduct would determine how I would deal with any situation that may come before me.

The Legal: How important is consensus—particularly unanimous consensus—in appellate court opinions? Are there limits when a judge should only concur?

Wolf: If I am elected, I will endeavor to come to agreement with colleagues but I would not abdicate my own beliefs.

The Legal: What two decisions or cases are you most proud of, and why? Conversely, what two opinions or cases would you like to take back or revise if you could, and why?

Wolf: The greatest judicial decision I made was seeking judicial orders implementing the judicial Eviction Diversion Program in 2021. In 2022, it became a Philadelphia City Council ordinance, but the court started the program, and I was its architect. I am proud to have responded to the request from a unanimous City Council to start the program. We tweaked it throughout the year and the program to date has helped over 46,000 households and delivered over $300 million to Philadelphians, both landlords and tenants. I am happy to have helped so many people. I am also very proud of the engagement that I fostered with court stakeholders, inviting them in to have a say on judicial management. They have helped the court in so many ways.

The Legal: Who are your role models and mentors?

Wolf: I clerked for a judge in New Orleans when I was in law school. He had a great work ethic. He started on the bench every day at 8 a.m. whether there was anyone in the courtroom or not. He had trials as much as possible. I want to work as hard as a judge as he did.