Judge of
the Municipal Court

Job Description: The Philadelphia Municipal Court is a court of limited jurisdiction with 25 law-trained judges, according to the city’s Web site, and is responsible for trying criminal offenses carrying maximum sentences of incarceration of five years or less. It also hears civil cases where the amount in controversy is $10,000 or less for small claims, landlord and tenant cases, and $15,000 in real estate and school tax cases. Municipal Court has initial jurisdiction in processing every adult criminal arrest in Philadelphia, and conducts preliminary hearings for most adult felony cases.
Term: 6 years
Salary: $148,596

Qualifications:
A: Education
B. Current Occupation
C. Qualifications for This Office
D. Have you been endorsed by the Bar Association?
We asked Candidates for Municipal Court Judge:
1. What in your background prepares you for service as a judge?
2. What are the most pressing needs for reform in our justice system?
3. What do you recommend happen to help stop repeat offenders and reduce the violence that is plaguing our city?

(vote for not more than 2 in your party)

Democratic

Joyce Eubanks

(Running for two offices)

Jacquelyn Frazier Lyde

Qualifications: No response received
Answers: No response received

Sean F. Kennedy

Philadelphia
Qualifications:
Education: 1978, St. Joseph’s Preparatory School; 1985, Temple University, BS Architecture; 1988, The Dickenson School of Law
Current occupation: Attorney
Qualifications for this office: 18 years civil litigation in Philadelphia and surrounding counties.
Have you been endorsed by the Bar Association? My final appearance before the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention is April 20, 2007. Yes.
Answers:
1. What in your background prepares you for service as a judge?I have practiced law in Philadelphia since 1988. I clerked for Judge Manfredi of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. I have been a civil litigator, litigating hundreds of cases in Philadelphia County for 18 years. My job requires me to be in Court on a weekly basis. I am extremely knowledgeable of, and experienced in, the judicial system of Philadelphia and feel extremely qualified to serve as judge in the Municipal Court of Philadelphia.
2. What are the most pressing needs for reform in our justice system? The most pressing needs for reform is our need to address the revolving door that our judicial system provides for criminals, allowing them to walk in the front door, and with relative ease, walk out the back door onto the streets. We need to find ways to keep the criminals incarcerated. This will require us to invoke stricter bail laws, and find the facilities to accommodate the increasing population of our jails and prisons.
3. What do you recommend happen to help stop repeat offenders and reduce the violence that is plaguing our city? We need to stop the revolving door existing in the judicial system. We must keep the criminals behind bars. We need to invoke stricter bail laws that keeps serious criminals behind bars until their trials. We must focus on how to change the behavior of criminals. Criminals respond when their behavior has immediate and predictable consequences. We must educate and train criminals so that they are employable once they are placed back into the community.
Web site: None provided

Robert M. Kline

Philadelphia
Qualifications:
Education: 1989, Temple University School of Law, J.D.; Dean’s List, Moot Court Honor Board; 1985 Drexel University, B.S. Honor’s Graduate
Current occupation: Managing Attorney, Eric M. Berman, P.C.
Qualifications for this office: Attorney for 18 years. Handled thousands of cases in Municipal Court.
Have you been endorsed by the Bar Association? Pending.
Answers:
1. Since I became a lawyer, I have had the desire to direct my sense of fair play and justice for all people as a trier of fact. I appear in court 2-3 times a week handling 30-40 cases at a time. I am the only candidate for Municipal Court with significant Municipal Court experience. I serve as a court appointed arbitrator. I maintain a level-headed temperament.
2. What are the most pressing needs for reform in our justice system? Maintaining independence and eliminating impartiality, and the perception of impartiality are two of the most pressing needs for reform. This can be accomplished via oversight from the bar association and outside watchdog groups. We must ensure that judges do not hear those cases where they would feel pressure to rule for one party.
3. What do you recommend happen to help stop repeat offenders and reduce the violence that is plaguing our city? An important area of concern is the need to address the overwhelming criminal caseload. We must find a way to effectively and efficiently administer criminal matters, both to address issues such as guns and drugs and enhance quality of life for all Philadelphians.
Website: None provided

Joseph J. O’Neill

Philadelphia
Qualifications:
Education: 1972, LaSalle College, B.A.; 1975, Widener University School of Law, J.D.
Current occupation: Attorney, private practice.
Qualifications for this office: Private General Practice (civil and criminal cases) 28 years; District Attorney’s Office (assigned to Municipal Court) 1 year; Assistant City Solicitor 2 1⁄2 years; Community Service
Have you been endorsed by the Bar Association? Yes.
Answers:
1. What in your background prepares you for service as a judge?My qualifications and experience as a practicing attorney for over 20 years, working in both the public and private sector, at all court levels (from the Municipal Court to the PA Supreme Court), representing individuals from all areas of the city in various civil and criminal matters, are the best indicators that I am well suited to continue my service to the Citizens of Philadelphia as a Judge of the Municipal Court.
2. What are the most pressing needs for reform in our justice system? Cases need to be heard on the date scheduled rather than having parties who have timely appeared be told that they are required to return to court again at a later date because their case was continued. Cases need to be disposed of more efficiently and quickly, and unnecessary continuances are to be discouraged. Orders and rules of court need to be enforced and followed by the parties to whom they are directed.
3. What do you recommend happen to help stop repeat offenders and reduce the violence that is plaguing our city? This is a multi-faceted sociological and legal problem which is not capable of an easy solution. A joint approach is needed involving individuals, families, communities, schools, churches, law enforcement, courts, media, anti-violence programs, increased education and awareness of problem solving alternatives to violence, jobs, strict enforcement of existing laws, and possible enhancement of guidelines to include increased probationary periods coupled with community service and educational direction, and increased bail for crimes committed with guns.
Web site: None Provided

Diane Thompson

Qualifications: No response received
Answers: No response received

Sandjai Weaver

Philadelphia
Qualifications:
Education: 1987 Ohio Northern University Pettit School of Law; 1983 Texas Southern University (Administration of Justice BS)
Current occupation: Attorney - solo practitioner, 3.5 years
Qualifications for this office: District Attorney’s Office 1990-2003; Major Trials Unit; Economic Crime Unit; Felony Waivers; Juvenile Unit; Municipal Court Unit; Child Support Enforcement Unit
Have you been endorsed by the Bar Association? Yes
Answers:
1. What in your background prepares you for service as a judge?While employed at the Philadelphia DA’s office, I have the opportunity to work in various units from quasi-criminal/civil to criminal law, exposing me to various aspects of civil and criminal law. I operate as an attorney in solo practice with an emphasis on criminal law. My practice includes representing clients in landlord tenant court, child support/visitation, forfeiture court, appellate work in the Superior, Supreme, and Commonwealth Courts of Pennsylvania, and various hearings at the administrative levels (unemployment compensation, PHA hearings, etc.). Prior to becoming an attorney, I worked in the following areas: telephone operator, phlebotomist, pharmacy technician, bookkeeper, secretary, and administrative assistant. I believe that my work in each of these areas helped tremendously in my trial work.
2. What are the most pressing needs for reform in our justice system? Given our congested prisons, alternative forms of punishment must be examined. At the MC level I propose a Judicially Sanction Community Service Program where the programs are pre-screened, with the hope that participation in these programs offer to participants, some marketable skill(s) that will facilitate a person’s ability to seek, obtain and maintain employment.
3. What do you recommend happen to help stop repeat offenders and reduce the violence that is plaguing our city? The Community Service Program (see answer above) would require participants to assist victims of crime, help the elderly, & speak to and have contact with youth in an effort to discourage the on-going cycle of detachment to the significance of life.
Web site: None Provided

Joseph C. Waters, Jr.

(filed in both parties)

Qualifications: No response received
Answers: No response received

Republicans

Joseph T. Murphy, Jr.

Qualifications: No response received
Answers: No response received

Joseph C. Waters, Jr.

(filed in both parties)

Qualifications: No response received
Answers: No response received
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