Perhaps the second time will be the charm for attorney Joseph K. Williams III, as he has again been nominated by Gov. Edward G. Rendell to fill a vacancy on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

WILLIAMS

Rendell first nominated Williams to the court in 2006, but the Senate did not confirm him. Williams, 56, subsequently ran for a court seat, but was defeated in the 2007 primary election.

This time, he said, there may be more impetus for the Senate to act on his confirmation before leaving on their summer vacation July 11 because his nomination was prompted by Senate members.

“The difference is this time (Democratic) Senators (Jim) Ferlo, (Jay) Costa, (Wayne) Fontana, (Shawn) Logan, (J. Barry) Stout and (Gerald) LaValle offered the nomination,” he said. “Also, Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, was very supportive, so I have bipartisan support.”

If confirmed, Williams would complete the term of former Judge Cheryl Allen, who was elected to Superior Court in November. The term runs through 2009, so Williams would have to run for a full term in May.

“I think it says something about my electability that I only lost by 3,000 votes my first time out, and that was after getting in very late,” he said. “They (the Senate) may be able to get to it before they leave, otherwise it will have to wait until September.”

William’s late entry into the 2007 judicial race was prompted by the late Judge Walter Little, who asked Williams to run for his old seat shortly before his death. Little, like many African-Americans in the legal profession, was distressed by the paucity of Black jurists on the county bench. Williams noted that no Blacks have conducted a criminal trial in 11 years.

Joy Woodruff, noted that her husband, Dwayne, and Kim Berkeley Clark are the only two Black judges, out of a total 42, on the Common Pleas bench.

“Both African-American judges serve in Family/Juvenile division. But there is a desperate need in Criminal division, as well as Civil, and Orphans’ Court for that matter,” she said. “Hopefully, Joe’s confirmation will go through quickly, for some minute progress.”

(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)