... and he should've been endorsed by the State Democratic Party... but thats a different topic....

In response to the question on the selection of judges, the answer is 'YES', judges should be elected, particularly for the higher courts. While I agree that the process of electing judges could be improved, I appreciate the fact that the responsibility of ensuring the election of the most qualified candidates is incumbent on each and every one of us; and of the PA Supreme Court candidates none is more qualified than President Judge C Darnell Jones II.

If you had to ask yourself what qualifications you expect from a Supreme Court Justice, what would you come up with? Judicial Experience? Intellectual soundness? Respect of his/her peers?

President Judge Darnell Jones has all that and more!

He has over thirty years of extensive legal and judicial experience. Starting out as a public defender in Philadelphia (where he became the Chief of the Family Courts), before being appointed to the bench by then Gov. Casey. Since then he has presided over more than a thousand cases and written over a thousand opinions. He is a nationally recognized expert on Evidence and Capital Case law and was recently selected as one of America's top 500 judges. Intellectual Soundness? Not only does he teach law students as an adjunct law professor at the very prestigious University of Pennsylvania, he also teaches state trial judges and U.S. Military judges Death Penalty Litigation and Evidence as a senior faculty member of the National Judicial College. Additionally, he has been commissioned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to teach Pennsylvania Common Pleas judges Death Penalty Jurisprudence. He certainly has the respect of his peers as evidenced by them electing him President Judge of the First Judicial District - Court of Common Pleas, which encompasses all of Philadelphia County. The Pennsylvania Bar Association also gave him the distinguished rating of “highly recommended” to serve on the state’s highest court.

I could go on and on about his qualifications, but you can easily read about them yourself at his campaign site JonesforSupemeCourt.com.

For me, the reason why I support and volunteer for his candidacy is his character. As a good friend of his daughter, it always amazes me when in public we run into people of all sorts of backgrounds, and upon their realization of who her father is, they proceed to tell of their experiences in his courtroom (defendants, lawyers, members of the jury, peers etc.), the end result always being "your father is a very just and fair man"!

In this day and age, when everyone is talking about reform of Pennsylvania state government, and courts. It makes sense that a man who 20 years ago was handpicked as one of late Gov. Casey's Reform Judges to reform the Philadelphia Courts, would be up to the task of reforming Pennsylvania Courts. Only difference is this time around, you and I have to do the picking.

I ask that YPP endorse President Judge C Darnell Jones II for the PA Supreme Court, and each and every one of you vote for him in the May 15 Democratic Primary.