Bar Association starts judicial process

WEST CHESTER >> Thirteen attorneys have submitted their names to the Chester County Bar Association’s Evaluation Committee for consideration of their qualifications for two open Common Pleas Court judgeships.

The list of names includes two sitting magisterial district judges and one retired district judge; four private practice attorneys; three current county prosecutors; three former prosecutors; and a member of the state Attorney General’s civil division.

Last month, the bar associations completed questionnaires by those wishing to participate in the association’s 2018 plebiscite, under which attorneys are deemed to be either “qualified” or “nor presently qualified” to serve on the Common Pleas Court.

There are two open seats on the court, for the seat lefts vacant by the retirements this year of former President Judge James P. MacElree II and Judge Phyllis Streitel, who continues to serve as a senior judge. There is an expected vacancy in 2019 caused by the anticipated retirement of Judge Anthony Sarcione, although his seat is technically not on the ballot for 2019.

The submission of an attorney’s name in the plebiscite is not a formal declaration of their candidacy for election, nor is it a requirement. (Common Pleas Judge Alison Bell Royer did not submit her name to the evaluation process in 2014, but was elected to he bench in 2015.) However, it is a traditional first step in the process for a judicial candidate, and a way for interested attorneys to test the waters.

Those returning the questionnaires are asked about the education background, their legal experience, the number of years they have been practicing, the number of trials they have been involved with, the amount of litigation they handle, whether they have been convicted of a crime (all 13 reported they had not), and their current occupations. Each also submitted a one-page letter outlining their overall qualifications.

Bar association members are asked to complete their ballots in the plebiscite by Tuesday. Results will be announced later in the month.

Those participating in the plebiscite include, in alphabetical order:

• Bret Binder, 39, of East Bradford, who now serves as one of two magisterial district judges in West Chester. He is a graduate of Villanova University Law School, and maintains a private practice in business and real estate law.

• Andrea Cardamone, 47, of Malvern, who is a deputy district attorney in the county. She graduated from Harvard Law School, and worked for a Philadelphia law firm before coming to the DA’s Office in 2002.

• Mark L. Freed, 55, of Tredyffrin, a private practitioner with experience in municipal and environmental law. He is a graduate of the Villanova University Law School, and was recently elected to serve as a township supervisor after having served one previous term from 2013 to 2017.

• Charles Gaza, 47, of East Marlborough, who now serves as the county District Attorney Chief of Staff. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburg Law School, and has worked fr the DA’s office for 12 years, after having earlier served as a Judge Advocate general in the U.S. Air Force.

• Matthew Holt, 37, of Tredyffrin. He graduated from Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law, and now works as vice president and counsel for the Bryn Mawr Trust Company’s wealth management division. He is also a township supervisor.

• Megan K. Kampf, 47, of Tredyffrin. She is a graduate of Temple University’s Law School, and currently works as a state deputy attorney general in the civil litigation division. Prior to that she worked as a prosecutor in the county DA’s Office for 10 years. She is married to state Rep. Warren Kampf.

• Megan King, 48, of Easttown. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburg Law School, and now works as a county deputy district attorney, heading the Child Abuse Unit. She previously worked as a prosecutor in the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.

• Daniel J. Maisano, 67, of Kennett. He is a graduate of the Delaware Law School, and worked in private practice for 39 yers before becoming a magisterial district judge in Kennett Square., a position from which he retired in 2016 after 18 years. He is married to county Treasurer Patricia Maisano.

• Thomas P. McCabe, 37, of Newlin. He is a graduate of the Villanova University School of Law, and worked as an assistant public defender in the county before going into private practice. he is currentl an associate at the law firm of O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei in Pottstown.

• Louis Mincarelli, 46, of East Brandywine. He is a graduate of Temple University Law School, and was a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for four years before going into private practice and working as a criminal defense attorney.

• Julie Potts, 39, of West Goshen. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Law School, and worked as an assistant district attorney in the county for five years before going into private practice, in which she specializes in family law.

• Alita Rovito, 56, of West Goshen. She is a graduate of the Dickinson School of Law, and served as an assistant district attorney for six years, and as a special master for 15 years before going into private practice, in which she specializes in family law.

• Analisa Sondergaard, 48, of Tredyffrin. She is a graduate of Temple University Law School, and no serves as one of the two magisterial district judges in Tredyffrin. Before taking office she worked in private practice and as a prosecutor in Philadelphia.

Those seeking election in 2019 would most likely run for nomination as a Democrat or Republican in the primary and, if successful, in the November general election.

The submission of an attorney’s name in the plebiscite is not a formal declaration of their candidacy for election, nor is it a requirement. (Common Pleas Judge Alison Bell Royer did not submit her name to the evaluation process in 2014, but was elected to he bench in 2015.)