Judicial

Timika Lane and Pittsburgh civil litigation lawyers Jill Beck and Bryan Neft.

“I know this court inside and out, front and back, up and down,” said Beck, who worked as a judicial clerk and has handled cases before Superior Court as a lawyer. “It’s a role that I feel uniquely qualified to fill.”

Neft, a former president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, said he has been setting up fundraising and meeting with party activists ahead of the Democratic endorsement decision.

In Commonwealth

Court, which handles litigation in which government officials and entities are parties, President Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt is retiring next year after two 10-year terms. Multiple court and party officials said Republican judges Renee Cohn Jubelirer and Anne E. Covey are both expected to seek retention, although neither returned calls seeking comment.

Commonwealth Court Judge Drew Crompton, a Republican who was for many years a top GOP lawyer in the state Senate, was appointed to fill a vacancy early this year. He said Monday he will be among those running in conventional, contested elections for the two openings.

At least one Democrat has announced a candidacy for Commonwealth Court. Judge Sierra Thomas Street is a Philadelphia common pleas jurist who called her campaign part of her goal to “create a fair and equitable court to resolve disputes with the respect and dignity that everyone rightfully deserves.”

Republican Mike Dimino, a Widener Law School professor from the Carlisle area, said late last week he was considering a run for Commonwealth Court.

“I am assessing whether there would be some interest in my running. There has been some, so I’m continuing to do that kind of investigation,” Dimino said Friday.