Attorneys get nod from panel

HARRISBURG » A state Senate panel has approved the nominations of two local attorneys to become judges on the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously agreed to send the names of Nichole Forzato and Louis Mincarelli to the full Senate for confirmation to fill two vacant seats in the county.

Both Forzato, currently the county solicitor, and Mincarelli, a partner in a Philadelphia law firm who ran unsuccessfully for judge in 2021, appeared live before the committee in Harrisburg.

Forzato, who was introduced to the committee by state Sen. Tim Kearney, D-26th, of Swarthmore, stressed her commitment throughout her career to public service. She came to the county Solicitor’s Office in 2020 after serving in the same office in

Montgomery County and in the state Attorney General’s Office.

“The reason I think that I would be a good addition to the bench is that upon going into law school at Villanova University I went to one of my mentors, and she said to me, ‘To whom much is given much is required.’” Forzato recalled. “She said, ‘Go out and do something more than make money. Make us proud.’

“What I feel I have done my best is in public service,” she said.

Micarelli’s career in public service and private practice was described for the committee by its chairwoman, state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20th, of Luzerne County. He had served in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office before founding the firm he still is partner in, McCullough McLaughlin & Mincarelli.

He spoke of his family background, with a grandparent who came from Italy and rose from the ground up, and of his commitment to the law and those who appear in court.

If confirmed, he said, “I would dedicate myself to make sure that people have a fair and just experience in court,” he said, from the lowest to the highest in the community. “I believe a judge’s role is to be fair and impartial and to apply the law as it is written. I would not be an activist judge.”

Their nominations, along with 11 others from across the state, will now move to the full Senate where they require a two-thirds vote to win confirmation. It is unknown when they might be voted on, but observers say it could come either this or next week.

The two were nominated last week by Gov. Tom Wolf in an arrangement that allowed both Forzato, a Democrat, and Mincarelli, a Republican, to be put before the GOP-controlled Senate.

According to a source with knowledge of the proceedings, in April Wolf’s Office of General Counsel invited interested applicants to submit their resumes to fill judicial vacancies across the state, including the two Common Pleas Court vacancies in Chester County caused by the 2021 retirements of Judge Jacqueline Carrol Cody and Judge Katherine B.L. Platt. Both are now serving in parttime capacity as senior judges.

The complete list of applicants was not released by he governor’s office, although speculation in county legal circles is that it includes both those who have sought the position in the past and high profile members of the legal community.

If they are indeed confirmed, Forzato and Mincarelli would be dropped into slots on the bench in various capacities depending on what assignments they are given by President Judge John Hall. A veteran criminal defense attorney, Mincarelli could conceivably take over a criminal case docket. Platt’s vacancy leaves open a seat on the county’s Family Court, which could be given to Forzato.

Regardless, both attorneys would have to face the voters for a full 10-year term in 2023, first by appearing on the primary ballot and then, if nominated, in November of that year. Both told Baker at the proceeding Tuesday they intended to run for office.

They will not be alone. It is anticipated that at least five seats on the bench will be up for election next year, with the planned retirement of current Judges David Bortner, Edward Griffith, and Jeffrey Sommer, all of whom have signaled that they will no seek retention.

But in addition, a sixth seat may be available. Last week, state Sen. Carolyn Comitta, D-19th, of West Chester, announced that a proposal she had made to add one more judge to the county’s trial court bench had been approved by the Senate and sent to the state House of Representatives for consideration.

Although from different political parties, Forzato and Mincarelli share one thing in common — neither have extensive experience appearing in courtrooms in the county.

Before she was appointed county solicitor, Forzato, 46, of Easttown, served as a Senior Deputy Attorney General in that office’s Criminal Prosecutions section in

Norristown. She had previously served as an Assistant Montgomery County Solicitor, where she worked with then-Commissioner Josh Shapiro, who was her boss as state Attorney General.

Forzato become the first woman to head the office of Chester County solicitor, which is responsible for initiating and defending civil lawsuits involving the county and its various departments, as well as providing legal advice to the commissioners and other county officials in their dayto-day business under the state’s County Code. She was also the first Democrat to head that office.

Mincarelli, 49, of East Brandywine, came in third last year in the election to fill two Common Pleas seats behind current Judges Alita Rovito and Anthony Verway, both Democrats. A graduate of Temple University School of Law, he devotes the majority of his practice to defending clients in criminal cases in Philadelphia.

If confirmed, the two would not be the first county judges to take the bench because of Harrisburg brokering. In 1992, Cody was appointed by Democratic Gov. Bob Casey Sr., alongside Republicans James P. MacElree II and Howard F. Riley. In 2005, longtime county attorney Ronald Nagle, also a Republican, was appointed by Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.