Pennsylvania

Pa. Supreme Court justices join panel to push back against campaign to oust them

Published

6 months ago

September 9, 2025

Pa. Supreme Court justices join panel to push back against campaign to oust them

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As Pennsylvanians look ahead to the November election, an unusually intense fight looms over the retention of three Democratic justices on the state Supreme Court.

Normally a sleepy race, some right-wing activists aligned with President Donald Trump are actively campaigning against retaining Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, citing their past rulings on pandemic “lockdowns” and voting laws. The court currently leans Democratic, with a 5–2 majority, making the race this year a contest that could reshape the court’s ideological balance for years.

While justices who are up for reelection are limited in their ability to campaign, Pennsylvanians were granted a rare chance to hear directly from the three justices on this year’s retention ballot during the Committee of Seventy’s “Behind the Ballot – Fireside Chat,” held last night at Central High School in Philadelphia. The panel was moderated by Cherri Gregg, co-host of WHYY’s “Studio 2.”

During the discussion, the justices pushed back on the idea that they were partisan in the way they decide cases.

“We have to apply the law as we interpret it to exist and apply it, and the result is going to be what the result is going to be, but it’s the process that we must ensure is fair and following predictable rules in matters of statutory interpretation,” Wecht told the audience. “We must interpret and apply the law that the General Assembly gave us. They’re the policy makers.”

Wecht added that they are also called on to “interpret what the law should be,” but that “we’re also not free agents there either, because we must apply the precedents or find a way to distinguish them.”

Pennsylvania is one of only eight states that determines the makeup of its courts through partisan races, whereas, in most states, the governor appoints justices or they are chosen through nonpartisan elections. That has led to accusations of partisanship.

Dougherty pushed back on that assertion.

“The Constitution required us to run as a partisan, but the moment we were elected, when we put that black robe on, we hung up that partisan title and we have watched ourselves accordingly,” Dougherty said. “And when you look at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, you’ll never hear us say it’s how many Democrats, how many Republicans? We say that we’re seven.”

Donohue added that the Democrats “disagree with each other all the time” and are often in alignment with Republicans.

“That’s a function of the interpretive process that we individually go through when we’re presented with an issue, and that’s true with our colleagues who were elected as Republicans,” she said. “So partisanship, honestly, from the time I served on the Superior Court to this very moment, has never been part of the function of my jurisprudence.”

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Pennsylvania

Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico

Published

1 hour ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico

A Pennsylvania man was found guilty of repeatedly raping his daughter’s best friend over a three-year span before fleeing with the teen to Mexico.

On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, was convicted on all counts of rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children.

Esterly shook his head as the verdict was read but said nothing in the courtroom.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Esterly’s trial began on Tuesday, March 3, after a judge denied his pretrial motion for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the Lehigh County District Attorney to be removed as a prosecutor in the case.

Both Esterly and his victim testified on Wednesday, March 4.

The victim — who is now 24-years-old — told the courtroom that she met Esterly and his family while attending church as a child and became best friends with one of his daughters. Esterly was a youth leader and elder at the church at the time. The victim said Esterly also coached her soccer team.

The victim said she became so close to Esterly’s family that she called his wife “mom” and eventually spent almost every weekend at their home in Lowhill Township, Pennsylvania. She also said she vacationed with them in New York state and Ocean City, Maryland.

The victim said Esterly first sexually assaulted her in August 2015 when she was 13-years-old after he gave her alcohol during a family birthday party.

“I was scared. Frozen in fear,” the woman told the courtroom on Wednesday. “I pretended I was sleeping.”

The woman accused Esterly of sexually assaulting her almost every time she slept over at his home. She told the courtroom she eventually became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which Esterly gave her in exchange for sex. According to the woman, Esterly gave her cocaine and methamphetamine to keep her awake during school because she “would be up with him all night.”

The woman said Esterly continued to sexually assault her until he was confronted by his wife in 2017. Esterly’s wife then threw him out of the house, according to the victim. She said Esterly continued to sexually assault her over the next year.

Esterly was later arrested and then sentenced to prison after federal agents found him with the victim in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2018. She was 16-years-old at the time.

The woman said she moved on and went to college after Esterly’s sentencing though she still struggled with drug addiction. She said she sought counseling in February 2025. She told the courtroom she received a message from Esterly on LinkedIn that same month in which he apologized for “failing you as a person I was supposed to be for you.” At that point Esterly had been released from prison.

The woman said she had not told anyone about her relationship with Esterly up to that point and replied to him, “I live with our secret every day as I promised. I would appreciate an apology.”

The woman told the courtroom that Esterly responded by writing, “I hope one day you can forgive me. Nobody knows I reached out to you. That is the best for both of us.”

On Feb. 21, 2025, Allentown Police received a report of Esterly’s sexual assaults which led to the new charges being filed against him. He was arrested in West Virginia in June 2025 after two police pursuits. He was then extradited to Pennsylvania.

The victim told the courtroom on Wednesday that she kept quiet about Esterly’s abuse for years because she “was afraid to speak,” and felt “dirty and ashamed.”

“I wasn’t ready to tell anyone,” she said. “He was a father figure in my life. I loved him.”

The woman also said she didn’t want to hurt Esterly’s daughter who was her best friend.

When the District Attorney asked her why she was “here today,” she replied by saying, “I want to tell the truth. I want to be set free.”

The woman ended her testimony by saying, “I don’t want to live with this secret anymore.”

After her testimony, Esterly took the stand for 45 minutes, denied all of the accusations against him and accused the woman of lying.

Closing arguments then took place Thursday morning. It then took an hour for the jury of seven women and five men to reach their verdict.

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Pennsylvania

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Published

13 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Madeline Bartos,

Jennifer Borrasso

Updated on: March 5, 2026 / 2:16 AM EST
/ CBS Pittsburgh

Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Map shows distance from Hillside, Illinois, to Zelienople, Pennsylvania

KDKA

Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said.

Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.

Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.

“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.

“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday.

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Pennsylvania

Top Pennsylvania 2027 quarterback enrolls into Coatesville (Pa.)

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Top Pennsylvania 2027 quarterback enrolls into Coatesville (Pa.)

One of the top 2027 Pennsylvania high school quarterbacks from the 2025 season has announced that he’s leaving for a new home.

Per an announcement by Class of 2027 signal caller Mikal Shank Jr., the quarterback has left Harrisburg (Pa.) and is now at Coatesville (Pa.) for his senior season. Shank Jr. last season started 14 games for the Cougars and is arguably one of the state’s top returning players behind center heading into the 2026 campaign.