Judge Shogan drops bid for GOP nod for Pa. Supreme Court

HARRISBURG - One of four judges vying for the Republican nomination for an opening on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dropped out of the race today.

Jackie Shogan, a Superior Court judge from the Pittsburgh area, cited personal reasons for her decision that include not wanting to compete in a heated primary battle.

"I continually weighed the impact of a statewide race on my family, on my current responsibilities as a Superior Court Judge, and to my political party," she said in a statement. "It has become clear that waging the type of race required to win the primary is not in the best interest of any of the parties involved at this time."

Shogan's withdrawal leaves three GOP candidates in the May 19 primary. They are the party-endorsed candidate, Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin; Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen, and Philadelphia Judge Paul Panepinto.

Jack Panella, a state Superior Court judge from Northampton County, is unopposed for the Democratic nod for the state's highest court.

Shogan was among 24 candidates who filed petitions to compete for openings on the three statewide appellate courts. In addition to the Supreme Court seat, there are three openings on the Superior Court and two on the Commonwealth Court.

Michelle H. Lally, a Monroeville lawyer who had filed to run for Commonwealth Court, also has abandoned her candidacy, a spokeswoman at her office confirmed today.

Hearings are scheduled tomorrow in Commonwealth Court on challenges to the petition signatures gathered by two Democratic primary candidates - Tom Munley, a Lackawanna County judge running for Superior Court, and Pittsburgh lawyer Michael Sherman, who is running for Commonwealth Court.

In a related development, the state bar's Judicial Evaluation Commission issued "recommended" ratings for Munley and another candidate it had not previously rated - Philadelphia lawyer Stephen G. Pollock, who was seeking the Democratic nomination for Commonwealth Court.