A good move by Gov. Corbett. The court currently has six members and is prone to tie votes because one of the Republicans on the court, Chief Justice Ron Castille, is from Philadephia, which means he's a Republican In Name Only and often sides with the Democrats. In fact, if the court had all seven voting members last year, the Voter ID bill would have been ruled constitutional. Instead, Castille sided with the Dems and essentially killed the bill.
The problem for Corbett is that the Republican-controlled Senate, which needs to confirm the nomination by a two-thirds margin, is divided 27-23 so that means the governor will need some Democrats to vote yes on the new justice.
The interim justice would serve until a full-time justice is elected in 2015.
So what would I do if I was the governor?
I'd nominate a seasoned member of the Senate who is a lawyer. (Montgomery County's John Rafferty?) It would be harder for Dems to oppose someone in their own chamber ... and it would hold out a political bone to Dems of possibly adding another Democrat to the Senate in 2014.
Corbett to nominate interim justice - News - Citizens' Voice
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