Daniel D. McCaffery (born July 20, 1964) is an American lawyer who serves as a 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 began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

since 2024. He is 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 mos ...

, serving from 2020 to 2024. 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 Father Judge High School is a Roman Catholic high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales provide ministerial leadership to the school community, which the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelp ...

in 1982, McCaffery joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served with the First Cavalry Division in

Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

, Texas. He attended the

United States Military Academy Preparatory School The United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) is a preparatory school for the United States Military Academy (USMA). Located in West Point, New York since 2011, its mission is "to provide academic, military and physical instruc ...

. 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. 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, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

in 1988 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Temple University School of Law The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Temple University, a public university, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls ...

in 1991.

Career

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

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is the most populous of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,603,797. It is coextensive with Philadelphia, the nation's ...

. From 1997 to 2014, he was a

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

with Friedman, Schuman P.C. From 2014 to 2019, he was a judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, he was elected to the

Superior Court of Pennsylvania 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 mos ...

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 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 movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

". 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