Pennsylvania
Running for: State Supreme Court
Justice Kevin M. Dougherty graduated from Temple University and earned his law degree from Antioch School of Law in Washington, DC. He began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia before entering private practice.
In 2001, he was appointed to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and later elected to a full 10-year term. He requested assignment to Family Court, seeking to influence the lives of vulnerable children and help guide troubled youth toward productive futures. In 2005, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appointed him Administrative Judge of Philadelphia Family Court, where he became the longest-serving Administrative Judge in the city’s history. He initiated programs such as the Cross-Over Program, the Adolescent Medicine Initiative, and the Expungement Initiative, all benefiting at-risk children.
In 2014, Justice Dougherty became Administrative Judge of the Trial Division, First Judicial District, overseeing Pennsylvania’s largest court system and serving as Chair of the Administrative Governing Board.
Elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 3, 2015, Justice Dougherty focuses on issues affecting children and families, access to justice, alternative sentencing, and transparency. He represents the Court on the Statewide Dependency Court Improvement Program, the Autism and the Courts Initiative, and the Supreme Court Behavioral Health Initiative, striving to make Pennsylvania’s judicial system a model for the nation.