Keith D. Hoppes believes his experience will enable him to serve the people of western Schuylkill County as their magisterial district judge, and he hopes they give him the chance to prove it.
"I think a solid knowledge of the law and rules of procedure and evidence is important," Hoppes, 38, of Tower City, said of his decision to run for the Tremont-based post being vacated by the retiring Carol A. Pankake.
Hoppes, a lawyer who has a solo practice in Tower City and also serves as an assistant district attorney, is one of four candidates seeking to be nominated in the May 21 primary election. A Republican, he has cross-filed for both the GOP and Democratic nominations.
Of the county's seven districts, Pankake's covers the largest area, including Pine Grove, Tower City and Tremont boroughs and Barry, Branch, Cass, Eldred, Foster, Frailey, Hegins, Hubley, Pine Grove, Porter, Reilly, Tremont, Upper Mahantongo and Washington townships.
Hoppes said his legal training will help him be a good magisterial district judge. He is a 2005 graduate of Widener University School of Law, Harrisburg, and is licensed to practice by both the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
"I think with magistrates, with their responsibilities being increased ... it's very important to have somebody in the position that knows and understands the law and is trained in the law," he said.
He said those increased responsibilities come from the expansion of magisterial district judge's jurisdiction in civil cases and the increasing complexity in the rules of evidence they must follow.
His legal training has come not only from his education, but also from working in the office of Gary D. Marchalk, Tamaqua, from 2006-11, and then as a sole practitioner since 2011, he said.
Additionally, Hoppes has served as an assistant district attorney since September 2012, handling juvenile cases.
"Before I took the DA's position, the bulk of my practice was criminal defense and family law," both while working for Marchalk and then on his own, he said. However, Hoppes also said he has a typical general practice of law, which also includes property, contract and landlord-tenant cases.
He also said he has the correct disposition for the position.
"I think that I have a good temperament to be a judge," Hoppes said. "When you're in court, it's already intimidating enough. People want to believe you have an interest in their case."
No matter who they are or what side of an issue they represent, people deserve to be treated with respect while in the courtroom, according to Hoppes.
"I often see people who leave the courtroom unsatisfied or even angry," he said. "Some people leave angry not because they lost, but rather they are angry because they did not know why they lost or they were not treated with respect during the procedure. I believe that I have a temperament which will make people comfortable in court as well as the legal training to explain what is happening in court."
Hoppes said he will be a full-time magisterial district judge and will change his private practice to make sure it does not interfere with his magisterial duties.
He said he likes living in Tower City, having moved there from Tamaqua. He is a 1992 graduate of Tamaqua Area High School and a 1996 graduate of York College of Pennsylvania.
The other three candidates seeking Pankake's current position are Tower City Mayor Daniel L. Daub, Tremont Borough Council President Laine Mack and attorney David J. Rossi, Washington Township. Candidate: Keith D. Hoppes
Age: 38
Residence: Tower City
Office sought: Magisterial district judge for the Tremont area
Experience: Practicing attorney since 2006; lawyer in the office of Gary D. Marchalk, Tamaqua, 2006-11; sole practitioner in Tower City since 2011; assistant district attorney since September 2012
Family: Wife, Ashley; sons, Noah, 3, and Eli, 2