Judge Anne Covey of the Commonwealth Court is perhaps most recognized for her role as a judge in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case, which resulted in the NCAA fining Pennsylvania State University $60 million. Covey, though, as an elected member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, also wants to recognized for something else. On May 19, Anne Covey, 55, of Bucks County, hopes to take the first step toward obtaining a position on the state’s highest court when she runs for Republican Party nomination. The election for three seats on the court will held on November 3 and will feature three Republican and three Democratic nominees.
On Thursday, Covey visited the legal offices of MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton as part of his campaigning in Erie. A luncheon sponsored by the legal firm for roughly 50 lawyers and young workers. Covey authored the court’s legal ruling upholding the validity of a state law that retained the entire $60 million fine in Pennsylvania for programs to support the state’s sexually abused children. This law passed by state lawmakers.
The penalties, a four-year bowl ban, the loss of scholarships, and the erasure of 112 victories under former football coach Joe Paterno were all included in a consent agreement that Penn State’s then-President Rodney Erickson signed with the NCAA.
NCAA Decided To Restore The Victories
The NCAA decided in January to restore the victories that it had later taken away from Penn State and Paterno due to the scandal. Before that agreement, the NCAA lifted certain additional penalties in 2014, including restoring Penn State’s full complement of scholarships and allowing the team to compete in postseason bowl games. Before the parties reached an out-of-court settlement, Covey presided over a trial in which the consent decree’s legality was contested.
Retirement And Two Controversies
Due to retirement and two controversies, she is running for the Supreme Court. After being linked to a scandal involving pornographic emails, Justice Seamus McCaffery resigned in 2014. Justice Joan Orie Melvin had resigned the previous year following her conviction for employing government employees for political purposes.
The state-mandated retirement age of 70 met by Chief Justice Ronald Castille in 2014. When asked what she would do to restore the court’s integrity if elected, Covey responded that she would start by seeing the situation from the perspective that the current justices are doing a great job and that she was looking to help them.
Despite “a few poor cases,” according to Covey, “we still have good justices on the court.” She continued, “I look to bring my expertise and background to the court, upholding the integrity and continue to do my job as I have on the Commonwealth Court, which is to write well-reasoned, clear and concise opinions, and have opinions come out so people in Pennsylvania can understand what the rule of law is.
Republican Judge Correale Stevens, a former state Superior Court president, is temporarily filling one seat, giving the court five out of seven justices. One of the candidates running for the full 10-year term in this year’s election is Stevens of Luzerne County. Additionally, six Democrats and four more Republicans are competing for the supreme court.
