For the first time, a panel of Superior Court judges, including Carbon County native Christine Donohue, convened in the Schuylkill County courthouse to consider cases.

The panel, which had been invited by the county, began hearing the cases in the ornate courtroom No. 1 on Tuesday and wrapped up Wednesday.In addition to Donohue, the judges were Mary Jane Bowes and Cheryl Lynn Allen.Those taking the opportunity to see the judges in action included dozens of high school students.President Judge William Baldwin said the sessions were an educational opportunity."Most people understand that the judiciary is the place to turn in our society if a person has been wronged by someone, or even by the government."They look to it for justice and fairness, but they don't fully understand how it works. They have some idea how trials work because of coverage by the local news media, but few have had the opportunity to see what occurs on the appellate level," he said.County District Attorney Christine Holman called the presence of the judges "very interesting. It was so refreshing to have these Superior Court judges mix and mingle with us, and let us know what they do, and why they are here."Holman said the cases ranged from child custody to criminal and civil matters.Baldwin said, "We were fortunate that the Superior Court gave the citizens of Schuylkill County an opportunity to do so when it accepted our invitation to conduct two days of oral argument in our courthouse."We are grateful to President Judge Susan P. Gantman for authorizing this special session and especially to Judges Mary Jane Bowes, Christine L. Donohue and Cheryl Lynn Allen for presiding over these sessions of court," Baldwin said.Donohue, the daughter of a union coal miner and union seamstress who grew up in the Panther Valley, is seeking a seat on the state Supreme Court. Her term on Superior Court ends in 2017.Donohue graduated from Marian Catholic High School, then East Stroudsburg University in 1974, and from Duquesne University School of Law in 1980.