Justice Christine Donohue
Pennsylvania
Running for: State Supreme Court
Pennsylvania
Running for: State Supreme Court
Justice Christine Donohue serves on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, beginning her term in January 2016. Previously, she spent eight years on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Born in Schuylkill County and raised in Lansford, she attended Marian High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts from East Stroudsburg University. She worked as an environmental project coordinator for SEDA-Council of Governments before earning her Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law, where she served on the Law Review.
Justice Donohue practiced civil litigation for 27 years, serving as a shareholder and commercial litigation department manager at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C. She earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and was recognized in Best Lawyers in America, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, and Pittsburgh’s Top 50 Attorneys. She is an elected Fellow of several trial lawyer organizations and past president of the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.
She has served on the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, Board of Law Examiners, Judicial Conduct Board, and Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court. Justice Donohue is active in bar associations and has been recognized for leadership, including the 2023 Woman of the Year Award from Duquesne Law’s Women’s Law Association. She led Project LITIGATE, promoting courtroom opportunities for young lawyers in civil jury cases. Justice donohue has also served on the Board of Directors of the Hill House Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, Turtle Creek Valley Mental Health/Mental Retardation, Inc. and the National Aviary of Pittsburgh.
Justice Donohue’s chambers are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She resides in the city of Pittsburgh.
Justice Kevin M. Dougherty
Pennsylvania
Running for: State Supreme Court
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.
Justice David Wecht
Pennsylvania
Running for: State Supreme Court
Pennsylvania
Running for: State Supreme Court
Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice Wecht served as a Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania (2012–2016) and on the Court of Common Pleas for Pennsylvania’s Fifth Judicial District (2003–2012). From 2009 to 2011, he was appointed Administrative Judge of the Fifth Judicial District’s Family Division, where he implemented reforms including the Unified Family Court, a local rule on parenting coordination, and improved conflict counsel appointments in juvenile cases.
Before taking the bench, Justice Wecht was twice elected Allegheny County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’ Court, pioneering a free will consultation program for seniors and authoring a state law preventing accused murderers from controlling victims’ estates.
A 1984 Yale College graduate (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa), he earned distinction in history and political science, then attended Yale Law School, serving as Notes Editor of the Yale Law Journal and editor of other law reviews. He clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge George MacKinnon and practiced law at Williams & Connolly, Katarincic & Salmon, and The Wecht Law Firm.
During his time on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Justice David Wecht has upheld the state Constitution’s “free and equal elections” clause to prevent extreme partisan gerrymandering, protected the guarantee of a “thorough and efficient system of public education,” and preserved Pennsylvanians’ constitutional right to clean air, pure water, and a healthy environment. He has also safeguarded women’s privacy rights and healthcare choices while defending the rights of Pennsylvania’s consumers, all in service of protecting the people and the Constitution of the Commonwealth.
Justice Wecht is a frequent lecturer, has taught at Duquesne, Pittsburgh, and international universities, and has published widely. He is active in professional organizations, including the American Law Institute, and has volunteered extensively in governmental, civic, and community boards.