Daniel D. McCaffery (born July 20, 1964) is an American judge who is an associate justice of the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...

and a former judge of the

Pennsylvania Superior Court The Superior Court of Pennsylvania is one of two Pennsylvania intermediate appellate courts (the other being the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania). It is based in Harrisburg. Jurisdiction The Superior Court hears appeals in criminal and most ...

. He defeated Republican Carolyn Carluccio in the 2023 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election, winning with 53% of the vote.

Military service and education

After graduating from

Father Judge High School , motto_translation = He will not fall away , address = 3301 Solly Avenue , location = , region = , city = Philadelphia , county = , state ...

in 1982, McCaffery joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and served with the First Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas. He attended the

United States Military Academy Preparatory School The United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS), sometimes referred to as West Point Prep, is a preparatory school for the United States Military Academy (USMA). Located in West Point, New York, its official mission is "to provi ...

. After being

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

from active duty, he served three more years in the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptists, Baptist minister Russell Conwell an ...

in 1988 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Temple University School of Law The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly com ...

in 1991.

Career

From 1991 to 1997, McCaffery was an assistant district attorney for

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsyl ...

. From 1997 to 2014, he was a

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ...

with Friedman, Schuman P.C. From 2014 to 2019, he was a judge of the

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas In Pennsylvania, the courts of common pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (the state court system). The courts of common pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state. The name derives from ...

. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, he was elected to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

In November 2022, McCaffery announced his candidacy for a seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court left vacant by the death of fellow Democrat Max Baer. He was endorsed by the state Democratic Party in February 2023, and won the May 2023 primary against fellow Superior Court Judge Deborah Kunselman with 60% of the vote. He went on to face the Republican nominee,

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Mon ...

Court of Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Carluccio, in the general election. Abortion was the central theme of the general election. Even though candidates in judicial elections typically avoid commenting on specific issues, McCaffery explicitly campaigned on protecting the right to an abortion. Carluccio declined to take a public position on the issue, but did say she would uphold Pennsylvania's law allowing abortion until 24 weeks after conception. However, she was endorsed by the anti-abortion Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, and the Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania supported her because she called herself "

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of ...

". Over $22 million was spent during the campaign, making the election one of the most expensive Supreme Court elections in the Commonwealth's history. Of that total, McCaffery and his allies spent over $13 million, primarily funded by "the state Democratic Party, labor unions, and associations representing trial attorneys." On November 7, 2023, he was elected to the

with 53% of the vote; McCaffery's support for abortion rights has been credited as a major factor in his victory.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCaffery, Daniel D. 1964 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Judges of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Lawyers from Philadelphia Pennsylvania Democrats Temple University alumni Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni United States Army reservists United States Army soldiers