Debra Todd
2008 - Present
2028
16
Debra Todd (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She assumed office in 2008. Her current term ends on January 3, 2028.
On October 1, 2022, the state Supreme Court announced that Todd would serve as chief justice following Max Baer's death.[1] Todd was sworn in as chief justice on January 20, 2023.[2]
Todd was first elected to the state supreme court on November 6, 2007. Two positions were open that year caused by the retirement of Justice Sandra Schultz Newman (R) and the defeat of Justice Russell Nigro (D) in his 2005 retention election.[3] Todd was retained in 2017.[4] To read more about judicial selection in Pennsylvania, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[5] Todd received a confidence score of Strong Democrat.[6] Click here to read more about this study.
Before her election to the state supreme court, Todd served as a judge on the Pennsylvania Superior Court from 1999 to 2008.[7]
Biography
Todd was born on October 15, 1957, in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.[8] She received a bachelor's degree from Chatham College in 1979 and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982. Todd received a master of laws degree from the University of Virginia in 2004.[8]
Todd began her legal career as a litigation attorney with U.S. Steel Corp from 1982 to 1987. She then entered private practice, where she , remained until 1999.[7] During that time, Todd also worked as a court-appointed special master with the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas from 1989 to 1999.[4]
Following an unsuccessful campaign in 1997, Todd won election to the Pennsylvania Superior Court in 1999. She held the position until her election to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2007.[4]
Elections
Pennsylvania Supreme Court (2008-present)
Todd, a Democrat, was first elected to the state supreme court on November 6, 2007.[4] She was retained in 2017.[4]
2017
Todd was retained by voters on November 7, 2017, receiving 70.8% of the vote.[9]
| Pennsylvania Supreme Court 2017 general election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Debra Todd (D) 
|
1,121,007 | 70.8% | ||
| Against retention | 461,751 | 29.2% | ||
2007
Todd was first elected on November 6, 2007, receiving 26.5% of the vote.[10] She was elected alongside Seamus McCaffery (D). Two positions were open that year caused by the retirement of Justice Sandra Schultz Newman (R) and the defeat of Justice Russell Nigro (D) in his 2005 retention election.[3]
Todd and McCaffery advanced to the general election after winning the Democratic primary held on May 15, 2007.[11]
| Pennsylvania Supreme Court 2007 general election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Maureen Lally-Green (R) | 994,760 | 24.3% | ||
| Michael Krancer (R) | 783,635 | 19.1% | ||
| Seamus McCaffery (D)
|
1,233,265 | 30.1% | ||
| Debra Todd (D)
|
1,084,550 | 26.5% | ||
| Pennsylvania Supreme Court 2007 Democratic primary election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Willis West Berry Jr. (D) | 216,033 | 14.9% | ||
| C. Darnell Jones II (D) | 261,200 | 18.1% | ||
| Seamus McCaffery (D)
|
452,662 | 31.3% | ||
| Debra Todd (D)
|
515,909 | 35.7% | ||
Pennsylvania Superior Court (2000-2007)
Todd was elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 2, 1999. She left office in 2007 following her election to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.[7]
1999
Todd was elected on November 2, 1999, with 26.2% of the vote. She won alongside incumbent Maureen Lally-Green (R). Two positions were up for election and incumbent Berle Schiller (D) was defeated.[12]
| Pennsylvania Superior Court 1999 general election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Maureen Lally-Green (R) (i)
|
1,067,655 | 26.9% | ||
| Richard Benson Klein (R) | 980,837 | 24.8% | ||
| Berle Schiller (D) (i) | 877,624 | 22.2% | ||
| Debra Todd (D)
|
1,036,448 | 26.2% | ||
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[13]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[14]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Debra
Todd
Pennsylvania
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Strong Democrat - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Was a registered Democrat as of 2020
- Donated over $2,000 to Democratic candidates
- Received donations from Democrat-affiliated individuals or organizations
Partisan Profile
Details:
Todd ran as a registered Democrat for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She donated $5,200 to Democratic candidates. She recieved $15,882 from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. She received endorsements from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
Other Scores:
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
- See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Todd received a campaign finance score of -0.54, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.02 that justices received in Pennsylvania.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[15]
Noteworthy cases
Wolf v. Scarnati (2020)
Wolf v. Scarnati: On July 1, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against legislative Republicans in favor of Gov. Tom Wolf (D), upholding his ability to maintain COVID-19 shutdown orders. The lawsuit stemmed from Wolf’s March 6, 2020, emergency disaster proclamation, which he renewed on June 3, 2020. On June 9, 2020, the Pennsylvania General Assembly adopted a concurrent resolution, HR836, seeking to terminate the disaster emergency, which was not presented to the governor for approval or veto. The governor did not comply. Three Republican state senators filed a complaint in the Commonwealth Court, asking the court to command Wolf to comply with their resolution by "issuing an executive order or proclamation ending the state of disaster emergency." Wolf asked the state supreme court to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction, thus removing the case to the high court. The state supreme court held that HR836 was a legal nullity because the Pennsylvania Constitution required that concurrent resolutions relating to emergency declarations be presented to the governor for approval or veto. As the General Assembly did not do so, the court refused to order Wolf to end the shutdown, stating, "The Pennsylvania Constitution does not empower the legislature to act unilaterally to suspend a law, and the Governor’s purported suspension of law did not violate the non-delegation doctrine." Justice David N. Wecht wrote the court's opinion, which Justices Max Baer, Debra Todd, and Christine Donohue joined. Justice Kevin M. Dougherty filed a separate opinion, concurring and dissenting in part.[16]
Commonwealth v. Muniz (2017)
In Commonwealth v. Muniz, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) could not apply retroactively to a defendant who was found guilty of a sex crime before the legislation took effect.[17] The court ruled that SORNA’s registration requirements constituted a criminal punishment and that the ex post facto clauses of the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions prevented the state from punishing defendants beyond what the law allowed at the time of his or her crime. Todd concurred with the majority's judgment in part but joined, in full, a concurring opinion authored by Justice David N. Wecht.[17]
State supreme court judicial selection in Pennsylvania
- See also: Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
The seven justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are selected in partisan elections.[18]
Justices serve 10-year terms, after which they must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to remain on the court. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and justices' names appear without respect to party affiliation.[18][19] To learn more about these elections, visit the Pennsylvania judicial elections page.
Qualifications
To serve on the supreme court, a justice must:
- have state residence for at least one year;
- be a member of the state bar; and
- be under the age of 75.[18][20]
Chief justice
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court chooses its chief justice by seniority; the title is held by the longest-serving justice on the court.[18][21]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor who must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim justices stand for election at the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.[18]
By tradition, appointed interim judges of the supreme court, superior court, or court of appeals do not go on to run for permanent seats. In other words, the governor appoints these judges with the expectation that the judge will only fill the interim vacancy.[18]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
|
Officeholder Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Footnotes
- ↑ Pennsylvania Supreme Court, "Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Passing of Chief Justice Max Baer," October 1, 2022
- ↑ WGAL, "Justice Debra Todd formally installed as first female Chief Justice in history of Pa. Supreme Court," accessed January 23, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Pennsylvania Supreme Court: McCaffery wins; Todd jumps to lead in top court races," Nov. 7, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Our Campaigns, "Todd, Debra McCloskey," accessed Aug. 3, 2021
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "Justice Debra Todd," accessed Aug. 3, 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 VoteSmart, "Debra Todd's Biography," accessed Aug. 3, 2021
- ↑ OurCampaigns, "PA Supreme Court Judge - Retention Vote," accessed Aug. 3, 2021
- ↑ OurCampaigns, "PA Supreme Court Justice," accessed Aug. 3, 2021
- ↑ OurCampaigns, "PA Supreme Court Justice - D Primary," accessed Aug. 3, 2021
- ↑ OurCampaigns, "PA Superior Court Judge," accessed Aug. 3, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, "Wolf v. Scarnati: Opinion," July 1, 2020
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Commonwealth v. Muniz, filed July 19, 2017
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "In Re: Nomination Papers of Marakay Rogers, Christina Valente and Carl J. Romanelli," November 7, 2006
- ↑ 2018 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, "Title 42, Chapter 33, Section 3351," accessed August 25, 2020
- ↑ The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania