Report of the Autonomous Judiciary Committee of the Montgomery Bar Association for the 2021 General Election

The autonomous and non-partisan Judiciary Committee of the Montgomery Bar Association, tasked with the obligation to pass objectively upon the qualifications of candidates for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, has rated the following candidates Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended.

 

RECOMMENDED

A. Nicole Tate-Phillips

This candidate possesses the qualifications to serve as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  She possesses the appropriate levels of integrity, good moral character, industry, legal ability and experience, courtroom experience, and judicial temperament, to be rated as RECOMMENDED.  This candidate has the legal experience, the commitment to justice, the community and the practice of law, and the regard of the legal profession to be rated RECOMMENDED by the Committee.

 

The Committee is also charged to rate a sitting Judge seeking retention as recommended or not recommended for retention.

The Committee considers and rates the candidates on the following criteria:

• Integrity;
• Good moral character;
• Industry;
• Good health;
• Legal ability;
• Bench trial, jury trial or evidentiary hearing experience;
• Judicial temperament (patience, courtesy, compassion, impartiality, humility, even temper, sense of fairness).

This rating process is a public service intended to fairly evaluate the candidates and to educate the public regarding the candidates and the evaluation.

The Autonomous Judiciary Committee RECOMMENDS that the following Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, be retained:

The Honorable Thomas C. Branca
The Honorable Richard P. Haaz

About the Montgomery Bar Association’s Autonomous Judiciary Committee

In its present form since 1965, the Committee is an autonomous, self-governing, committee within the Montgomery Bar Association charged with the obligation to pass upon the qualifications of every candidate for the office of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and to advise the public accordingly. The Committee is composed of the Association’s ten most recent Past-Presidents as well as elected rotating panels of 24 of the Association’s members-at-large.  The Committee’s members are lawyers of diverse background, ages, practices and geographic areas of Montgomery County and hundreds of years of collective legal experience.

 

About the Montgomery Bar Association

Established in 1885 to professionalize the county’s practice of law, the Montgomery Bar Association (MBA) is one of our nation’s oldest and most respected bar associations, representing over 2,000 legal professionals in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  Now, as then, the MBA exists to uphold legal and ethical standards in our legal community.  As the third largest Bar in Pennsylvania, the MBA has a longstanding tradition of service to its membership and the community.  For members, the MBA offers an important arena for networking, professional development and education.  For the community, the MBA serves as a trusted legal resource, offering education, legal assistance and funds and resources for individuals and agencies in need. The Association is actively engaged in public service through community outreach, free educational events offered throughout the year, programs like the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project, the Mock Trial Competitions for high-school students, and more.  For more information on the Montgomery Bar Association, visit www.montgomerybar.org.