Biden to nominate Lackawanna County Judge Julia Munley for a federal court seat

May 3—Lackawanna County Common Pleas Court Judge Julia K. Munley is in line for a promotion.

After months of anticipation, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he will nominate Munley to serve as a federal judge.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Munley, 57, would become a U.S. District judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She would fill a vacancy created when Judge John E. Jones III retired in the summer of 2021.

Attempts to reach Munley, a South Abington Twp. resident, were unsuccessful.

Lackawanna County Bar Association President John C. Mascelli said Munley is "aces all around."

"She's got a terrific reputation for being honest, hard-working, intelligent," Mascelli said. "She has a very good judicial demeanor. Power goes to some people's heads and becoming a judge is a very powerful position. Julia Munley is not like that ... I can't give her higher grades."

Pennsylvania's U.S. senators, Bob Casey and John Fetterman, praised the choice. Casey said Munley has "devoted her career to serving Pennsylvania children, families, and workers" and will bring "qualifications, leadership, and commitment" to the job. Fetterman called her "highly qualified" and predicted she will be "fantastic District Court judge."

Gov. Tom Wolf nominated Munley to be a county judge and the state Senate confirmed her in June 2016. She was elected to the court without opposition in November 2017 to serve a 10-year term.

Munley's career path could again parallel her father's. Judge James M. Munley served for 21 years as a county judge before President Bill Clinton nominated him to a federal judgeship in 1998. James Munley died in March 2020, still a senior federal judge.

Julia Munley, long rumored as Biden's choice, was vetted by federal agents last year. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Marywood College, now Marywood University, in 1987, and her law degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1992. Munley served as a law clerk to Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Stephen J. McEwen in 1992 and 1993; as an associate lawyer at Masterson, Braunfeld, Maguire & Brown in Norristown from 1993 to 1995, and at Mazzoni & Karam Law Offices, Scranton, from 1995 to 2001; and as a trial attorney and partner at Munley Law in Scranton from 2002 to 2016.

Munley was among four people the president said he would nominate for district judgeships. The others were for courts in Washington, D.C., Connecticut and Michigan.

A White House statement called all four "extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution." Munley and the other three are part of Biden's 33rd round of nominees for judicial positions with 167 nominees in all so far.

In April of last year, Biden nominated attorney Gerard M. Karam, a Dickson City resident, as the Middle District's U.S. attorney.

Carl W. Tobias, Williams chair in law at the University of Richmond School of Law, who tracks judicial nominations, said the Senate has confirmed more than 120 of Biden's nominations. With the Senate acting more quickly lately and Munley and the others non-controversial picks, their nominations should sail through the Senate in a month or so, Tobias said.

"I think she's in good shape," he said.

If the Senate confirms Munley, Gov. Josh Shapiro would have the right to nominate her replacement, Lackawanna County First Assistant Solicitor Don Frederickson said. If confirmed by the state Senate, Shapiro's nominee would serve until after the November 2025 municipal election, Frederickson said. That election would determine a permanent replacement for the next 10 years.

Federal judges earn $232,600 a year, according to a federal court compensation website. Common pleas court judges earn $212,495 a year.

The Middle District consists of 33 counties in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, including Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming.

The district court still has another vacancy because Judge Robert D. Mariani assumed senior status at the end of September.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.