Judge Worries About 'Pay Raise' Backlash At Polls

(KDKA) The state's top Superior Court judge is speaking out. President Judge Kate Ford Elliot is worried that some experienced judges may be tossed out because of the continuing backlash against the judicial pay raise.

"I've been a judge for 18 years, and I have never seen this kind of attention placed on the retention elections," she said. She says the public has the right to vote however they want, but: "What I would hope, though, is that the citizens will judge the records of the judges who are standing for retention this year and determine whether they have faithfully fulfilled their oath of office."

In the “uncut” version of the interview, Judge Elliot references the Oath of Office several times, but never once mentions adherence to the Pennsylvania Constitution. She talks about keeping politics out of the judiciary, but never mentions Supreme Court Chief Justice Cappy’s involvement in the infamous pay-raise debacle. The damage done to the Pennsylvania judiciary was largely self-inflicted. It would have been nice to have the judge at least acknowledge this in the interview.

The fact that that Supreme Court Chief Justice Cappy announced his resignation earlier this week, as opposed to facing a tough retention vote in 2 years, speaks volumes.