For the first time since 1965, Mercer County voters will elect two judges this year.

Eight candidates will be on the ballot for the May 20 primary: Democrats Margaret Lucas, Stephen Mirizio, Christopher St. John, Joann Jofery and James Nevant and Republicans James Goodwin, William McConnell Jr. and John Reed. They all cross-filed.

The candidates were brought together for the first, and perhaps only, time Wednesday night at the Mercer County Judicial Forum at Grove City College.

The school's political science program and Phi Sigma Alpha, the political science honorary, sponsored the event, which drew nearly 150 interested listeners.

"We hope that this event will get information to voters so they'll be able to make a better decision when they vote on May 20," said forum organizer Michael Coulter, an associate professor of political science. "We're very happy that this was able to work and we're very pleased that all eight candidates were able to come in."

Mercer County Common Pleas President Judge Francis J. Fornelli, who was among those on hand, concurred.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Fornelli said. "The more education that's available to the voting public, the better the selection. I commend Grove City College and I hope there are more of these, even more than presently scheduled. It's a great opportunity."

Also emphasizing the significance of a forum of this type, as well as the upcoming election, was St. John, who noted in his opening statement that "this is one of the most important elections we've had in the judiciary in Mercer County in a long, long time."

Candidates were each given three minutes for opening statements and then two minutes for each of two questions, which the candidates received about 30 minutes before the forum.

According to Coulter, a judicial forum of this type is as rare as county voters being asked to select two judges in one year. It's rare because judicial candidates are bound by a code of conduct that until last November was extremely restrictive. That's when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court amended its code, striking a clause that prohibited candidates from "announcing their views on disputed legal or political issues," Coulter said.

The high court was forced to make the change after a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer struck down an identical restriction in Minnesota, citing that it unconstitutionally inhibited freedom of speech. The ruling allows candidates to voice their opinions on tort reform, criminal sentencing and other issues in a way they haven't been able to since 1974 when the old restriction was first adopted.

Wednesday's questions, however, were more philosophical than legal. The first asked the candidates to reveal one specific life experience that would demonstrate the candidate's ability to act calmly, deliberately and reasonably in an extremely stressful or pressure-packed situation.

Among the personal life experiences discussed by the candidates: Reed recounted a harrowing drive back from Altoona after the 1997 PIAA Class A state football championship victory of the Sharpsville Blue Devils; Ms. Lucas noted her marriage during her third year of law school and her husband's subsequent injury on their honeymoon that kept him in a body cast for more than a year; Goodwin recalled his time as a chief counsel on a death penalty case in 1990; McConnell began his legal career as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps and said "they went out of their way to expose us" to stress; Ms. Jofery remembered a time as a caseworker for Mercer County Children and Youth when she was assaulted by a woman while investigating a child-abuse charge; and St. John mentioned Nov. 10, the day he, his wife and 18-year-old daughter escaped with barely a scratch as a tornado tore through their Clark neighborhood.

The second question asked the candidates if they would make a ruling required by law even if they didn't like or agree with it. All the candidates emphatically agreed that a judge is sworn to follow the law regardless of his or her personal convictions.

Armstrong Cable, which serves the Mercer and Grove City areas, is scheduled to broadcast a tape of the forum several times, Coulter said. WPIC radio in Hermitage also plans to broadcast portions of the event.

You can e-mail Herald Political Writer Jeff Greenburg at jgreenburg@sharonherald.com.

030401