TOM'S VIEW OF THE ROLE OF JUDGE

The role of a Judge is to apply the laws as written or determined by cases from the appellate courts, including the Pennsylvania and U.S. Supreme Court, not as the Judge wishes they were written or decided. In applying the laws, sometimes that means reaching a result that the Judge may not personally like. That is what it means to be a nation and community of laws.

The trial judge is assigned to be an objective arbiter of the facts and the law by presiding over the proceedings and see that order is maintained; determining whether any of the evidence that the parties want to use is illegal or improper; in jury trials, providing the jury with instructions about the law that applies to the case and the standards it must use in deciding the case before it begins its deliberations about the facts in the case; in "bench" trials (cases tried before the judge, without a jury), determining the facts and decide the case; and to sentence convicted criminal defendants. Essentially, the trial judge serves a role similar to a referee in a sports game. 

If elected, I pledge to you that I will maintain order and apply the laws fairly; treat all parties and their counsel who appear before me with dignity and respect; always ensure a level of seriousness and purpose; listen intently; and, equally apply the law to all those appearing in my courtroom.