Candidate for
Justice; Pennsylvania Supreme Court; Republican Party

The Honorable Paul P. Panepinto is presently a Judge in the Civil Trial Section, Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County.

Judge Paul P. Panepinto attended Villanova University and received his B.A. in Political Science in 1971, and M.A. in Political Science in 1979. He received his J.D. in 1976 from Widener University School of Law. Judge Panepinto was appointed to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas in June, 1990, elected in his own right in 1991, and retained for a ten year term commencing January 2002.

After serving five years on the Family Court Bench, Judge Panepinto was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as Administrative Judge of the Philadelphia Family Court Division where he served from April 1996 to December, 2000.

Under his administration, many new programs were initiated to improve court operations and make the Court "user friendly" and help to resolve conflicts for children and families. Judge Panepinto served as a Trustee for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges from 2001 to 2007.

Judge Panepinto has received numerous awards for his work. Among his most notable awards include Outstanding Alumnus of the Year from Widener University Law School in 1994, as well as the Marvin E. Wolfgang Award of the Juvenile Justice Center of Pennsylvania presented to him in August, 1999 for his outstanding contributions for work performed for Children at Risk. Also, Judge Panepinto was instrumental in securing funding for the Model Court in Philadelphia, which has resulted in expediting action in the worst cases of neglected, deprived or abused children, including the ultimate goal, which is to reach adoption sooner. He is also credited with launching the nation's first satellite Truancy Court which has served as a model for other jurisdictions, including Rhode Island, and was recognized by the Rhode Island Governor, Donald L. Carcieri, and Attorney General of the State of Rhode Island, Hon. Patrick Lynch, for his instrumental role and efforts in the establishment of a model for a Truancy Court. In June of 2005, he was nominated and awarded the prestigious Italian recognition of "Cavaliere" by the Consul General of Italy for significant contribution to the Republic of Italy in both personal and professional life.

Judge Panepinto was appointed PA State Chair for the "Do the Write Thing Challenge" by the National Campaign to Stop Violence. He has participated as Co-Chair of Philadelphia's program since 1998.

Judge Panepinto is married for 31 years to the former Nancy Abbolone and they have two children, Paul, age 25 and Lynn, age 22.