Despite being under investigation, Centre County Judge Bradley P. Lunsford might soon be taking the reins as Court of Common Pleas president judge.
Centre County President Judge Thomas Kistler was recently nominated by Gov. Tom Wolf to fill one of two vacancies on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which means his current position would be filled by Lunsford based on seniority.
“It’s automatic in counties where you have fewer than eight judges that the president judge is selected by seniority,” Kistler says.
Another judge cannot be elected until 2017. Until then, Kistler and Lunsford said the county will have the help of Senior Judges David E. Grine and Charles B. Brown Jr.
“I intend to carry on the good stewardship of our court that Judge Kistler established, and I look forward to continue to ensure justice for each individual who enters our courthouse,” Lunsford said in an email. “No changes should be anticipated with me as president judge. Today is Judge Kistler’s day, and we are all very happy for him. I appreciate having the confidence and support of my colleagues on the bench and will strive every day to assure fairness and justice for all who rely on our court system.”
Lunsford is currently under investigation by the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania. It’s unclear what triggered the investigation. The conduct board does not comment on investigations.
Lunsford is also up for retention this year and his name will be on county voters’ ballot in November’s municipal election.
In December, Lunsford’s duties were reassigned and he was ordered by Kistler to not hear criminal cases, with the exception of those in DUI Court, until further order. Kistler did not specify the reason for the reassignment.
Gov. Tom Wolf called Kistler on Feb. 4 to inform him of the nomination. Kistler was elected to the county’s Court of Common Pleas in 1997 and has been the court’s president judge for three years.
Kistler, 57, has been nominated, along with Ken Gormley, 59, a dean and law professor at Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh. Pending senate approval later this month, the two will fill the seats left behind by former Chief Justice Ronald Castille, who was forced out of the court at the end of 2014 due to a mandatory retirement provision that takes effect when a judge reaches the age of 70, and Justice Seamus McCaffery, who resigned last October after it was brought to light that he was involved in a pornographic email scandal.
“A collaborative process involving leaders from the Senate led to the selection of two nominees who I believe will execute their duties with the highest standard of ethics and judicial temperament,” Wolf said in a press release.
Kistler says he realized the two vacancies were available during a conversation with Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Benner Township, and joked about calling him to help. A stretch of time went by when Kistler said he didn’t hear anything, but the opportunity materialized quickly.
“As a lifelong member of Centre County, he has been dedicated to improving our community through his active involvement in local organizations especially those that benefit children and families,” Corman says. “He will be a welcome addition to the supreme court.”
Corman also points out in the statement that Kistler will only be Centre County’s second state Supreme Court justice, behind Judge Roy Wilkinson who served from 1981-82.
As a state Supreme Court justice, Kistler’s job duties would change considerably. Instead of hearing cases in a trial setting, equipped with clients, their lawyers, evidence and sometimes a jury, which is what he currently does, Kistler would hear appeals from lawyers and do research to decide whether or not a new trial should be granted.
He will also have the opportunity to help shape the law, which hasn’t previously been possible.
“Every lawyer and judge in Pennsylvania has to follow the word of the supreme court,” he says. “But the supreme court doesn’t have to follow (their own rules). They can (make and change) the law. It’s a new experience and I’m really looking forward to it, even though it’ll be short term.”
The vacancy Kistler will fill does come with an uncontestable expiration date of Thursday, Dec. 31. Kistler says he understands that he can’t be a candidate for the position he’ll fill come election time, and hasn’t really had an interest in running for a statewide office. At the beginning of next year, when the newly elected justice starts, however, Kistler’s plans are up in the air since he will no longer be a Court of Common Pleas judge, unless appointed by the governor.
There is also the possibility, Kistler says, that he will be appointed to serve in another county.
Kistler might not be working out of the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte anymore — where he still eats lunch in the same room as when he helped at his dad’s law firm as a teenager — or going to trial, but he’ll still be working in the county.
Bringing a judge in to serve on the supreme court for a brief period of time can become costly, Kistler says, which is why he and Gormley were asked to consider finding donated office space to save taxpayers money. Kistler says Penn State Law is giving him some office space where he will work with three clerks instead of five or six.
This new position will involve a bit of travel, Kistler says, when the justices get together six times each year to discuss cases. His first opportunity to sit with the other justices will be in March.
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