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Russell M. Nigro (born March 23, 1946) is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He first ran on the Democratic ticket in 1995. He ran for retention in 2005 but lost, thus making him the first Supreme Court Justice to lose a retention vote since such elections were first held in 1968.

Education

Nigro graduated from Temple University in 1969 with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree, and received his Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University (Camden) School of Law in 1973. He also served as an adjunct professor at Temple University.

Legal career

Nigro was in the private practice of law from 1973 to 1987. In 1987, he was nominated to by Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey Sr. to serve as a judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania's First Judicial District (a trial level court), and was approved by Pennsylvania's Senate. In November of 1987, he won election to the Court of Common Pleas.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Nigro was elected to Pennsylvania's Supreme Court for a ten-year term in 1995, however he was defeated in a retention election in 2005. Nigro's retention had been recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which recognized he had served with distinction on the Supreme Court for ten years, stating that Nigro's "independence, work ethic and commitment to enhancing the quality of justice in Pennsylvania all clearly warrant that Justice Nigro be retained as a member of Pennsylvania's highest Court." In 2002, Nigro had received the Philadelphia Bar Association's Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Distinguished Jurist Award. "The award recognizes a jurist who adheres to the highest ideals of judicial service."

The ousting of Justice Nigro was the direct result of public anger over a pay raise for members of all three branches of state government, which the General Assembly passed without public notice or debate in the early morning hours of July 7, 2005 and then-governor Ed Rendell quickly signed. Although Nigro was not a member of the state legislature, and so had not voted on the pay increase, executive and legislative elections would not be held until the following year, and so the public voiced its displeasure by denying retention to Justice Nigro. Nigro received strong support from southeastern Pennsylvania, including his native Philadelphia, but met strong opposition in southwestern and southcentral Pennsylvania where anger over the pay raise was greatest.

Post-supreme court

Nigro served on Philadelphia County's Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT) from 2006 to 2015. As of 2015, Nigro was serving as the BRT's chair, presiding over real estate tax appeals. He resigned from the BRT as of December 31, 2015. Members of the BRT receive a salary of $70,000 for what the Philadelphia Inquirer had called a "part time" job.

Nigro has overseen a virtual mediation program involving asbestos and talc litigation in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He has also served as a discovery master in that court's Risperdal litigation. Nigro also serves as a private mediator.

Vacancy

Governor Rendell nominated Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Baldwin to temporarily fill the vacancy created by Nigro's losing the retention election, through January 2008. She was the first African American woman to sit on Pennsylvania's Supreme Court.

See also

• 2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly pay raise controversy

References

1. "Justice Russell M. Nigro" (PDF).
2. Nephin, Dan (December 17, 2005). "Judge Cynthia Baldwin gets nod for Pa. Supreme Court". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023.
3. "Russell M. Nigro". OurCampaigns.
4. ^ Nigro: 'Misguided' outrage cost him Supreme Court seat
5. ^ "Justice Russell M. Nigro, Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania" (PDF).
6. "NIGRO GETS LOCAL BACKING FOR STATE SUPREME COURT". The Morning Call. September 21, 1993.
7. "Pennsylvania Bar Association > For Lawyers > Committees/Commissions > Judicial Evaluation > Resources > JEC Ratings > 2005 > Supreme Court". www.pabar.org. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
8. "Justice Brennan Distinguished Jurist Award". philadelphiabar.org. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
9. "Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Distinguished Jurist Award - Philadelphia Bar News". philadelphiabar.org. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
10. Barnes, Tom (November 9, 2005). "Voters reject Supreme Court Justice Nigro". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
11. Barnes, Tom (November 10, 2005). "Anger over pay spelled defeat for Justice Nigro". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
12. Dao, James (November 6, 2005). "In a Rare Battle, Justices Are Fighting for Their Seats". New York Times.
13. Collins Walsh, Sean (April 30, 2014). "BRT chair: No questions about raises". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
14. "Letter of Suzanne Biemiller, Chair, Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority to Honorable Russell M. Nigro, Chairman Board of Revision of Taxes" (PDF). October 29, 2015.
15. Vargas, Claudia (2016-02-18). "Former Judge Maier elected to Board of Revision of Taxes". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
16. Kerkstra, Patrick; Tanfani, Joseph; Fazlollah, Mark (April 8, 2010). "Council bill would slash BRT salaries". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
17. "Corporate and Insurance Defense Lawyers Navigating Virtual Mediation and In-Person Jury Trials in Philadelphia Asbestos and Talc Matters". McGivney, Kluger Clark & Intoccia, P.C. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
18. "Mass Tort Master Docket and Liaison Counsel List" (PDF). November 29, 2022.
19. D'Annunzio, P. J. (November 13, 2013). "Case Over College Student's Fall Settles for $11.6 Mil". The Legal Intelligencer.
20. Duffy, Shannon P. (October 14, 2011). "Breaker Explosion Case Settles for $13.9 Mil". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
21. Horan, Kevin (2006-01-09). "Rendell picks trustee for state Supreme Court". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
22. "The Honorable Cynthia Baldwin". thehistorymakers.org. 2008.

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