District Attorney Matt Weintraub to run for Bucks County judge

Christopher Dornblaser, Bucks County Courier Times
·2 min read

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub is seeking a different job this year.

The DA, who has held the position since 2016, confirmed his intention to run for judge in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas in a statement released by his office Friday morning. First Assistant District Attorney Jen Schorn will take on the title as acting DA should Weintraub win in November.

Weintraub, a Republican, was appointed in 2016, when then-DA David Heckler retired. Weintraub won election in 2017 and re-election in 2021.

"It’s my intention to make my First Assistant Jen Schorn succeed me as Bucks County DA. By running for judge in the middle of my term, she gets to be DA for two full years before she then would stand for election herself. It’s like a live audition for the job. I had this advantage to prove myself as DA," he said.

"This way, the county gets a fantastic district attorney, while I continue to serve the public as a judge. It’s a win-win.I predict that with her leadership and dedication to our mission, Jen will far exceed me as Bucks County District Attorney, and it’s not fair for me to stand in her way any longer. She’s ready, and so am I."

There is one vacancy and one retention election in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas this year, according to the Department of State. Candidates may start filing their nomination petitions Tuesday through March 7.

Weintraub, of Doylestown Township, is married and has two children. He is from Upper Southampton, and graduated from Ursinus College and the Temple University Beasley School of Law.

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Schorn was appointed the title of first assistant DA in March 2021 after the previous first assistant DA was demoted for doing DoorDash deliveries during work hours. He resigned one month later.

Schorn graduated Widener University School of Law before joining the office in 1999. She is the Chief of Trials and the Chief of Grand Jury division with the DA's office.

She has prosecuted multiple high-profile cases in recent years. She is the lead prosecutor in case of the 1991 murder of Joy Hibbs. Authorities said Hibbs was murdered by Robert Atkins, 56, in her Bristol Township home nearly 32 years ago. Atkins was arrested last year.

She is also the lead prosecutor in the case of James Carey, a former Warminster police officer who last year pleaded no contest to sexually abusing five boys.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County DA Matt Weintraub running for county judge, selects successor