Superior Court judge, juvenile justice expert ran tight ship
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Lauren Posati clerked for Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Patrick Tamilia for more than 30 years, but one indelible career moment took place when he was still a judge in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
A jury was deliberating the fate of William “Eggy” Prosdocimo, a Greenfield drug dealer who was found guilty in 1982 of killing an informant. During the break, Judge Tamilia flashed the athletic prowess that had made him a cheerleader with the Duquesne University squad decades earlier.
“While we were waiting for the jury to come in, he entertained us to some extent with his athletic abilities,” Ms. Posati of McCandless recalled Friday. “He was able to walk on his hands across the bar in the courtroom, the jury rail.”
While Judge Tamilia could dazzle with handstands and backflips, he was best known for his lengthy judicial career, advocacy for children and expertise in juvenile justice matters.
Judge Tamilia, who retired from full-time status in 2008, died Tuesday at Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center. He was 89 and had been suffering from dementia.
“He had a very strong intellect and an interest in protecting the children,” Ms. Posati said.
The son of an Italian immigrant laborer and a homemaker, Judge Tamilia was the second oldest of seven children raised amid humble surroundings in Pittsburgh’s West End. He graduated from Langley High School and joined the Marines just after World War II ended. After two years, he took advantage of the GI Bill and enrolled at Duquesne, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. He joined the Army Reserves and married his high school sweetheart, Betty Jean Koffler, who also had been a cheerleader at Langley.
At one point, Judge Tamilia considered a career as a phys ed teacher. That changed after he went to work for Allegheny County’s juvenile court as a caseworker and probation officer.
“That’s really the roots of what we see as his career starting,” said Mark Tamilia, 66, of Upper St. Clair, the oldest of Judge Tamilia’s two sons, both of whom are lawyers.
Judge Tamilia’s aspirations shifted. He went to law school at Duquesne, graduating in 1957 and was hired as a law clerk for several judges in the county. Years later, he would return to teach at Duquesne. Judge Tamilia became director of the county’s domestic relations department, a precursor to Family Court, in 1962. He was elected to Common Pleas Court in 1969 and settled in Rosslyn Farms.
Judge Tamilia spent most of his time handling family and juvenile issues. He eventually transferred to the criminal division and was elected to Superior Court in 1983. He was retained in 1993 and worked until he was 80. During that time, he wrote a history of the Superior Court. Later, he embarked on his last project, researching the state Supreme Court.
Judge Tamilia was described as a children’s advocate and one who believed in innovation in the courts.
Retired Allegheny County Judge Raymond Novak first worked with Judge Tamilia in the early 1970s, when Judge Novak was assistant director of the court.
At the time, he recalled Thursday, the courts were working to decentralize treatment programs for children and move them into the community.
The problem, though, was that people living in those neighborhoods often would object.
“The one person I could call on to come out and talk to an angry neighborhood was Judge Tamilia,” Judge Novak said.
In a soft-spoken manner, Judge Tamilia would explain that what the system had been doing with children wasn’t working, and that they deserved better.
“He spoke so quietly, and in a reassuring way, that he brought the crowd around,” Judge Novak said.
Judge Tamilia ran a tight ship at work, Ms. Posati recalled. He was actively involved in crafting opinions, endeavored to eliminate case backlogs and came to the office daily for a full workday before heading home to dinner with his family.
“He wanted staff in place and the coffee done and the morning chitchat over because if he was going to be there working, we all would be there working,” she said.
Ms. Posati and the judge’s son said the judge was proud of his Italian heritage — he was president of the Pittsburgh-based Italian Sons
Daughters of America fraternal club — and his Marine background.
Each year, he treated the Marine Corps birthday on Nov. 10 as a holiday and would go out to lunch. “If you sent a resume to our office that said ‘Marine Corps,’ it got you one notch up,” Ms. Posati said.
In later years, Judge Tamilia kept fit with calisthenics, traveled worldwide and tried his hand at oil painting, model building and scrimshaw carving.
In addition to his wife of 67 years and son Mark, Judge Tamilia is survived by son Arthur of Robinson; a brother, Ronald; sisters, Jeanette DePaul and Lorraine Hudson; and three grandchildren.
Visitation is from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at William Slater II Funeral Service, 1650 Greentree Road in Scott. The Mass will be celebrated at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Ascension Roman Catholic Church in Windgap.