The state Supreme Court takes on relatively few cases, but its rulings can have a major impact on politics and policy in Pennsylvania. In recent years, the court has decided cases on reproductive rights, mask mandates, and election disputes.

“The Supreme Court is the ultimate decider of law in Pennsylvania but most people don’t have everyday interaction,” said Deb Gross, president and CEO of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a nonprofit that educates people about Pennsylvania’s judicial system.

What a justice does

Justices on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court get the final say on cases that are appealed up through the commonwealth’s two other appellate courts, which means they often decide whether to uphold or overturn decisions from governors and the state legislature.

In recent years, the court has handed down major rulings interpreting Pennsylvania’s Election Code.

The court’s decisions include instructing officials to toss out thousands of mail ballots with missing or incorrect dates on the outer envelopes, disqualifying thousands of ballots with missing inner envelopes, and letting counties use ballot drop boxes at their own discretion.

The court also intervenes when the governor, state House, and state Senate can’t agree on a congressional map.

In 2018, the justices declared the map unconstitutional and ordered lawmakers to draw a new one.

They then commissioned a new map themselves when the lawmakers deadlocked. In 2022, the court again chose a new map.

Democratic candidates

Deborah Kunselman

Kunselman, based in Beaver County, began her judicial career with an election to the county’s Court of Common Pleas in 2005, and won a seat on Superior Court in 2017.

She spent 13 years in private practice before that, working in civil litigation and family and employment law at several Pittsburgh-area law firms.

She was rated “Highly Recommended” - the top designation - by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which wrote that she has a “reputation for being a thoughtful appellate decision-maker, open to persuasion, and proceeding in each matter with integrity and high character.”

In her PBA questionnaire, Kunselman wrote that her “passion for the law and love of writing opinions” drove her to run for state Supreme Court. She said that she hopes to write unambiguous, precedent-setting opinions that lawyers will be able to clearly understand.

Daniel McCaffery

McCaffery, a Philadelphia native, was elected to Superior Court in 2019.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, McCaffery began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, where he was assigned to the major trials unit.

Following his stint in the DA’s office, McCaffery joined a private firm based in Montgomery County and spent 16 years there as a civil trial attorney.

Before being elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 2013, McCaffery volunteered as legal counsel for the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee and was a member of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. McCaffery’s website notes that he has also worked on 50 campaigns as a manager, fundraiser, and canvasser.

McCaffery is the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate.

He was rated “Highly Recommended” by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which wrote that he has “sound knowledge of legal principles” and a history of “community involvement.”

McCaffery wrote in his PBA questionnaire that he is running for state Supreme Court because he thinks that “Democratic Institutions including the judiciary are under duress.”

He said that he hopes to restore confidence in the court system and will “approach every case in a nonpartisan manner.”

Republican candidates

Carolyn Carluccio

Carluccio, a judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, was first elected in 2009.

Before becoming a judge, Carluccio worked on both sides of the justice system. After a few years in private practice at the start of her career, she became an assistant U.S. attorney in Delaware in 1989 and served in the role for nearly a decade. She then served as chief public defender of Montgomery County from 2002 to 2006.

Carluccio was elected unanimously by her peers to serve as president judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in 2022.

The Pennsylvania Republican Party endorsed Carluccio in early February, choosing her over another candidate who had previously run for state Supreme Court.

She was rated “Highly Recommended” by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which called her a “highly respected jurist.”

In her PBA questionnaire, she wrote that she “wants a justice system that is fair and impartial.” She also wrote that her “diverse court experience” is an asset, citing her experience on both sides of the justice system as well as in family and civil cases.

Patricia McCullough

McCullough, of Allegheny County, currently serves on Commonwealth Court. This is her second time running for state Supreme Court after losing the Republican primary in 2021 to Brobson.

During that election, McCullough’s husband began serving a prison sentence for taking money from an older woman’s trust fund - a factor that Republican Party officials said lessened their support for her candidacy.

In November 2020, she ordered state officials to stop certifying the election results in response to a suit brought by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R., Pa.) and others that sought to throw out mail ballots.

A higher court later dismissed that ruling with prejudice, saying that the petitioners didn’t bring the case forward in a timely manner and that not certifying the election would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters.

When she ran for state Supreme Court in 2021, McCullough’s website stated that she was the sole candidate in the race who had been “praised by President (Donald) Trump.”

During the 2020 redistricting cycle, the state Supreme Court picked McCullough to serve as the court’s special master and make a recommendation for a new congressional map.

She recommended that the state Supreme Court impose new congressional districts based on a map that state House Republicans submitted - a recommendation that the state Supreme Court justices did not take up.

McCullough began her career as a clerk to a Court of Common Pleas judge in Washington County, then worked as an attorney and adjunct professor for the University of Pittsburgh.

She went on to work in private practice for five years, until her appointment to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 2005. During that time she also served as executive director of the Catholic Charities Diocese of Pittsburgh before returning to private practice. She was elected to Commonwealth Court in 2009.

McCullough did not complete the Pennsylvania Bar Association questionnaire.

Terms

Justices are elected to 10-year terms, after which they face a retention vote. In the past two decades, only one justice has failed to retain their seats.

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