Montgomery County's Two New Judges Receive Their Assignments

The two Democrats who swept the contest for two seats on the Montgomery County bench in the Nov. 7 election have learned where they will preside come January.

Judge Wendy G. Rothstein will preside in the Criminal Court Division while Judge Jeffrey S. Saltz will preside in the Civil Court Division. 

The assignments were announced by President Judge Thomas M. DelRicci.

The judicial assignments are effective Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2019.

DelRicci said that earlier this year the board of judges adopted a judicial rotation policy, outlining how they’d like the rotation practice to be carried out.

“And I used that policy as my guideline in making these determinations. That was my primary guideline,” said DelRicci, referring to the judicial assignments he settled on for the 23-member bench. “We needed to make certain that all of the divisions would be appropriately served with both experienced and newer judges. So that had to go into the equation as well.”

Montco President Judge Thomas M. DelRicci/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

On the criminal bench, Rothstein will join judges William R. Carpenter; Thomas C. Branca; Steven T. O’Neill; Richard P. Haaz; Steven C. Tolliver; Risa Vetri Ferman; and Todd D. Eisenberg.

On the civil bench during 2018, Saltz will join judges Thomas P. Rogers; Garrett D. Page; Gary S. Silow; and Gail A. Weilheimer. DelRicci will move to the civil bench in 2019 when Silow moves to the Family Court Division.

Rothstein, 61, of Plymouth Township, a partner in the Blue Bell office of Fox Rothschild LLP, was the top vote-getter in the balloting on Nov. 7, capturing 154,616 votes, according to unofficial election results.

Saltz, 64, of Lower Merion, who has run his own law firm in Philadelphia since 1998, came in second in election balloting, according to unofficial results, garnering 96,204 votes.

Rothstein and Saltz were elected to 10-year judicial terms and will take their oaths of office in January.

The Democrats defeated lone Republican contender and current Judge Joseph P. Walsh, who captured 69,097 votes, according to unofficial but final returns. Walsh, 52, of Montgomery Township, has been on the county bench since September 2016 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy by Gov. Tom Wolf and he was seeking to retain that seat.

Judge-Elect Wendy G. Rothstein/Submitted Photo

During the campaign, Rothstein touted her 34 years’ experience as a trial lawyer and said she was most proud of having been “a trailblazer for women in the legal profession,” explaining she “broke the glass ceiling” as the first female lawyer hired at Pearlstine Salkin, Associates, now known as Fox Rothschild, in 1982; appointed as a municipal solicitor in Montgomery County in 1988; appointed by the county judges to serve as a discovery master in 2001; and appointed by county judges to serve as a Chair of a Board of View in 2013.

Rothstein will join nine other women currently on the county bench.

Saltz was a board member of the Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority from 2002 to 2008 and was a law clerk to Judge Harrison L. Winter, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1978 to 1979.

Judge-Elect Jeffrey S. Saltz/Submitted Photo

Saltz graduated from Princeton University in 1975 and is a 1978 graduate of Harvard Law School, according to his resume.

Rothstein graduated from Temple University in 1978 with a Bachelors of Social Work and obtained her law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1982.

Judge O'Neill Appointed to New Post Overseeing Specialty Courts

The Montgomery County judge who oversees Drug Treatment Court has been appointed to fill a newly-created administrative post on the 23-member bench.

Judge Steven T. O'Neill/Submitted Photo

Judge Steven T. O’Neill was appointed as the administrative judge of treatment courts, an announcement made this week when President Judge Thomas M. DelRicci unveiled judicial assignments for the period Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2019.

“Judge O’Neill will supervise all of our specialty courts,” DelRicci said. “That’s a brand new administrative position.”

Those specialty courts include Drug Treatment Court, Behavioral Health Court and Veterans’ Treatment Court.

President Judge Thomas M. DelRicci/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

“That work that we’re doing has just gotten too large and it’s very complex because you’re dealing with not only the Department of Probation and Parole and the service agencies that assist us in providing for the needs of those people in those programs, but there’s also a lot of grant applications and things like that that have to be taken care of,” DelRicci explained.

“It’s a huge job and to throw that under the role of the administrative judge of the Criminal Division means that the person just doesn’t have time to do both, so I split that up,” added DelRicci, explaining the rationale behind the creation of the new administrative post.

O’Neill previously was the administrative judge for the Criminal Division. But Judge Thomas C. Branca will officially move into that position come January.

O’Neill was appointed to the county bench in April 2002 by then Governor Mark S. Schweiker and was sworn in on July 29, 2002, as a county judge, according to his biography. O’Neill was then elected to a 10-year term in 2004 and was retained for another 10-year term in 2014.

Judge O'Neill/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

O’Neill, a 1975 graduate of Drexel University who received his law degree from Villanova University in 1978, has been assigned to the criminal division since 2007. Additionally, O’Neill launched the drug treatment court and has overseen its operation for 11 years.

DelRicci, who was installed as president judge in January and who was retained during the Nov. 7 election for another 10-year term on the bench, announced other judicial assignments this week.

Judge Carolyn T. Carluccio was appointed to be the new administrative judge for the Family Court Division.

Judge Lois E. Murphy will remain as the administrative judge of the Orphans’ Court Division while Judge Thomas P. Rogers will remain the administrative judge of the Civil Court Division, which he has helmed for the last year. Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy will remain administrative judge of the Juvenile Court Division, according to DelRicci.

Judge Cheryl L. Austin will helm Veterans’ Treatment Court, which previously was overseen by Judge Todd D. Eisenberg. Established in April 2011, the Veterans’ Treatment Court addresses the needs of veterans cycling through the court and prison system.

Judge Gary S. Silow will continue to oversee Behavioral Health Court, which was established in 2009 and addresses the needs of people with serious mental health problems who are progressing through the court and prison systems.