Governor to fill magistrate vacancy left by Shurtleff

BY ROBERT L. BAKER

Wyoming County Press Examiner

Russell Shurtleff's election to the President Judgeship of Wyoming and Sullivan counties in November leaves a vacancy for his magisterial district judge seat in the eastern part of Wyoming County that can be filled by an appointment from Gov. Ed Rendell.

Shurtleff will take his new office on January 4. The governor will then have 90 days to appoint someone.

That appointment has to be confirmed by the state Senate, and any appointment would last until the next municipal election in 2011 when voters would elect a magisterial district judge to a full six-year term.

Shurtleff recently noted that he himself was also appointed by a governor, Tom Ridge, more than a decade ago, before he sought election to the post outright.

Until a replacement is appointed, one of three available senior judges could handle preliminary hearings and other cases.

Shurtleff's Magisterial District, 44-3-01, covers Factoryville and Nicholson boroughs and Clinton, Lemon, Nicholson and Overfield townships. Any person appointed would have to reside in the district.

Both Wyoming County Republican chairwoman Fran DeWitt and Wyoming County Democratic chairman Angelo Sabbatini said they each have been approached by interested candidates.

Five names circulating in the region as having some interest in the position are Scranton attorney Roger Mattes, who lives in Nicholson, and Dale Kitchnefsky, Lisa Koval, David Plummer and Martin Reynolds.

Magisterial district judges do not have to be attorneys or have law degrees. Anyone elected or appointed to the position is not required to have a law degree, but if they don't, they would have to pass a certification in order to serve in the role.

Susan Davis, judicial education administrator for the Pennsylvania Minor Judiciary Education Board said Monday that anyone desiring to be appointed, if not an attorney, would need to complete a 4-week certifying course in Harrisburg that would cover such things as

*criminal law and procedure

*civil law and procedure

*rules of evidence

*judicial ethics

*motor vehicle law

*arrest/search and seizure

*Pennsylvania Drug/Device and Cosmetics Act

*Pennsylvania crimes code

Her office said that of the candidates mentioned above, Koval has already completed the certification process.

Davis noted also that before the candidates could be sworn in, they would also need to take a one-week orientation course.

Sabbatini said that he has already made a recommendation of Mattes to Democratic Gov. Rendell, but did not know what Mattes' chances were given that whomever the governor selected would have to be approved by the Republican-controlled State Senate.