JENNERSVILLE, PA — On Thursday evening, April 24th, three judicial candidates held an informal forum at the Dansko building in Jennersville. Judges Clay Cauley and Mackenzie Smith, candidates for the Court of Common Pleas, and attorney Joe Heffern, running for a district justice position, talked and answered questions for 90 minutes. They will face the voters on May 20th and they helped to explain a somewhat arcane state system that has four levels of accountability.
Heffern, an attorney for over 20 years, is running for a district justice seat that covers the boroughs of Parkesburg, Atglen and Modena and the townships of Londonderry, East and West Fallowfield, West Sadsbury and Valley. The seat, known as 15-3-07, is currently held by Judge Nancy Gill. The district courts are the first level in the state judicial system and generally hear minor cases and decide whether these issues go to Common Pleas. They also hold preliminary hearings, set bail and make decisions on housing or small claims up $12,000.
Judge Mackenzie Smith is currently on the Court of Common Pleas and was appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro in February, 2025. She is now running to permanently fill the seat. This is a trial court and hears cases from the district level. Some of the hearings will be simply before a judge while others will be jury trials. In Chester County this court has 15 full time justices. Clay Cauley, who is currently an administrative law judge, is also running for one of two seats. Cauley has been practicing law for over 22 years and is a former prosecutor and defense attorney.
All three candidates talked briefly about their experience and philosophy but most of the evening was given over to questions from an audience of 30 people. Questions ranged from local to federal issues although the candidates were somewhat limited to what they could specifically comment on. One question from Don Slesinski, currently running for township supervisor in Penn township, dealt with campaign literature and where the line was between falsehood and exaggeration and what could be done about it. Another community member wondered if district justices had any security at their offices and the answer was “no”, which Heffern referred to as a critical issue.
Some in the audience were upset by events on the national scene, particularly those currently between the executive and judicial branche,s and what judges can do if the Justice Department and Supreme Court are at an impasse. Heffern pointed out that justices do not have “an army”. Smith had earlier commented that she is hopeful for the law remaining in its primacy and that she always supports “people who love the truth and search for it.”
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