Bar association rates judicial candidates for state races

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Run for judge not, lest ye be judged.

That may be the rueful lesson for two Allegheny County residents who received a thumbs down from the Pennsylvania Bar Association this week.

In all, six county residents are among at least 26 people seeking seats on the state’s appeal courts. After conducting interviews and background research, a bar association panel rated each contender this week as either highly recommended, recommended or not recommended.

Two local judges are seeking to fill the Supreme Court seat of former Justice Michael Eakin, who stepped down amid ethics charges tied to a pornographic email ring. The lone Democrat running, Allegheny County family court judge and former Pittsburgh Steeler Dwayne Woodruff, was “recommended.” The panel lauded his reputation for being “hard working, well prepared, polite, attentive, and respectful to litigants.”

Superior Court Judge Judith Olson, an Allegheny County resident who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2015, received the association’s highest ranking. The panel said her “intellectual prowess is evident in [her] thorough and concisely written opinions,” and said she “is known for being fair, respectful [and], open minded.”

Another Republican, Sallie Updyke Mundy, was also highly recommended. Justice Mundy is holding Justice Eakin’s seat on an interim basis.

Meanwhile, Oakdale attorney William Caye II, who is running for one of four seats on Superior Court, received a “not recommended” rating, and a bruising review. The panel voiced “concerns” about his “temperament, his inability to accurately recall events and his overall writing skills. Some attorneys who know him questioned his work ethic and judgment. During the interview, the candidate was evasive when responding to direct and pertinent questions. … When questioned about past instances of his reported courtroom behavior, the candidate blamed the court and other counsel.”

In all, the panel said Mr. Caye “displayed a lack of professional maturity and raised questions about his temperament and collegiality.”

A former prosecutor in private practice, Mr. Caye earned a “recommended” rating from Allegheny County’s bar association for a 2015 Common Pleas Court run.

Mr. Caye declined to comment on the rating. “I’m running to be the people’s judge,” he said, “and people have a constitutional right to vote on the candidates.”

Eleven other candidates are seeking Superior Court slots. The only other Western Pennsylvanian is Beaver County Common Pleas Judge Deborah A. Kunselman, whom the bar highly recommended.

Three Allegheny County residents are among the 11 candidates seeking two spots on Commonwealth Court, which hears cases involving state and local governments and agencies. Pittsburgh attorney W. Timothy Barry was “recommended” by the state bar, as was Paul Lalley, who ran for the court in 2015.

Irene McLaughlin Clark, a longtime Pittsburgh housing court judge, received a “not recommended” rating in her run for Commonwealth Court. Although the panel said her “record demonstrates a commitment to justice and a strong work ethic,” it said that outside her area of expertise,