By Max Mitchell
Of the Legal Staff
Judge Patricia H. Jenkins, of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, has been nominated to the state Superior Court, Gov. Tom Corbett announced today.
Jenkins fills a vacancy on the Superior Court created when Correale F. Stevens, then its president judge, was elevated July 3 to a seat on the state Supreme Court. Stevens' term was set to expire in 2016. With the confirmation, the Superior Court will operate with a full complement.
“Judge Jenkins’ record of integrity will make her a great asset to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania,” Corbett said in a statement. “Her vast legal and judicial knowledge will serve all the people of Pennsylvania, and I want to thank the Senate for her confirmation.”
Jenkins was appointed to the Delaware County bench in February 1993, and was elected to her first full 10-year term in the fall of that year. During her tenure she presided over the high-profile murder case of John E. du Pont in 1996. Du Pont was convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to 13 to 30 years in prison for shooting to death Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz.
Before becoming a judge, Jenkins worked as a partner at Kassab Archbold & O'Brien. She also worked as a professor of paralegal studies at both Widener University School of Law and Villanova University School of Law, where she taught litigation specialization and property law.
She was also married to former speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Matthew J. Ryan, who died in 2003.
"I thank Gov. Corbett for his nomination and look forward, upon confirmation, to the opportunity to serve Pennsylvania as judge for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania," Jenkins said in a statement when her nomination was announced.
Jenkins is expected to serve until the first Monday of January 2016.
Max Mitchell can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MMitchellTLI.
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