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First Posted: 4/30/2015 HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) &#8212; Five Republican candidates for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court touted their experience and integrity, vowed that politics would never color their judicial decisions and otherwise provided little information to set themselves apart from the pack during a candidate forum Thursday.
Joining the event at Widener Law School in Harrisburg were Supreme Court Justice Correale Stevens, Superior Court judges Cheryl Allen and Judith Olson, Adams County Judge Mike George and Montour County District Attorney Rebecca Warren.
Six Republicans and six Democrats are vying for nominations in the May 19 primary. The top three vote-getters in each party will compete in the general election for an unprecedented three open seats on the state&#8217;s highest court.
In the discussion about political influence, Stevens, who was appointed to the state&#8217;s highest court to complete the term of a justice who resigned, said that in the 15 years he previously served on the Superior Court that he had never seen a decision based on a judge&#8217;s political affiliation. Allen said she has challenged colleagues who have written politically slanted decisions.
&#8220;I think we have an obligation to call our colleagues out&#8221; if such situations arise, said Olson.
The candidates agreed on the need for more legal resources for people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer in civil actions, such as the loss of their homes or the termination of parental rights, and for murderers who are sentenced to death.
&#8220;They&#8217;re losing their ultimate liberty, they&#8217;re losing their life,&#8221; Warren said.
Stevens said the court also must weed out frivolous motions that unnecessarily postpone some executions.
&#8220;You have to remember that there are victims of crime,&#8221; he said. &#8220;At some point, the victims&#8217; families, they just don&#8217;t get closure.&#8221;
Warren, the only non-judge in the group, noted in her closing argument that two of the vacancies on the court resulted from scandals that forced two justices to step down.
&#8220;Each of us has decades of experience. However, the justices who were removed because of impropriety and misconduct also had impressive resumes, so I think the question that the voters need to ask on May 19 is what is the motivation of each candidate running for the Supreme Court?&#8221; she said.
George said he would work to restore respectability and transparency to the court.
&#8220;We can either sit back and let things affect us or step up to the plate and change them,&#8221; he said.
Allen said politics are the enemy of what the courts stand for.
&#8220;Politics brings a culture of corruption, a culture of privilege and back-room deals,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Justice is fair, justice is impartial, justice is nonpartisan and justice is for everyone.&#8221;
The three justices who are ultimately elected will serve 10-year terms and receive an annual salary that is currently $203,409.
Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey skipped Thursday&#8217;s forum because she was holding a Pittsburgh fundraiser featuring former Steelers football star Franco Harris.
The event followed a similar forum Wednesday for the Democratic candidates for Supreme Court.

GOP hopefuls for state’s high court tout records at forum