Russell M. Nigro is a former justice of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...
. He first ran on the
Democratic ticket in 1995. He ran for retention in 2005 but lost, thus making him the first Supreme Court Justice to lose a retention vote since such elections were first held in 1968.
The ousting of Justice Nigro was the direct result of public anger over a pay raise for members of all three branches of state government, which the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
passed without public notice or debate in the early morning hours of July 7, 2005 and then-governor
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...
quickly signed. Although Nigro was not a member of the state legislature, and so had not voted on the pay increase, executive and legislative elections would not be held until the following year, and so the public voiced its displeasure by denying retention to Justice Nigro. Nigro received strong support from southeastern Pennsylvania, including his native
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, but met strong opposition in southwestern and southcentral Pennsylvania where anger over the pay raise was greatest.
As of 2014, Nigro was serving as chair of Philadelphia County's Board of Revision of Taxes, presiding over real estate tax appeals. Members of the BRT receive a salary of $70,000 for what the
Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
has called a "part time" job.
Vacancy
Governor Rendell nominated
Allegheny County
Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...
Common Pleas Judge
Cynthia Baldwin
Cynthia Baldwin (born February 8, 1945) is an American jurist who was a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after serving sixteen years as a Pennsylvania County Court judge. Baldwin was the first African-American woman elected to the Alleg ...
to temporarily fill the vacancy through January 2008.
See also
*
2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly pay raise controversy
In the early morning hours of July 7, 2005, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed pay increases for state lawmakers, judges, and top executive-branch officials. The vote took place at 2 am without public review or commentary and Governor Ed ...
References
Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
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