So You Want to Be a Judge? 2026 – Lancaster

Judge Bruce Beemer was appointed by the Governor and confirmed unanimously by the Pennsylvania State Senate to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 2019. He currently serves in the Criminal Division handling a specialty court docket in Sex Offense Court dealing with crimes against minors. He was elected to a full ten-year term in November of 2021. Judge Beemer was also appointed by the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to sit as a Commissioner on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and he also currently serves on the Pennsylvania Criminal Jury Instruction Committee.In September of 2024 he was appointed by the Supreme Court to serve as Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division in Allegheny County, comprised of approximately 14 judges and hundreds of court staff and employees
In July of 2016, the Governor appointed Judge Beemer to serve as Inspector General of Pennsylvania, where he managed an office responsible for investigating waste, fraud and abuse within the executive branch agencies of state government.The office of over 250 employees also conducts investigations into welfare fraud, food stamp trafficking, and overpayment of benefits from inception to final prosecution or adjudication. Judge Beemer served in this role from 2016 through 2019.
Following the resignation of Attorney General Kathleen Kane in August of 2016, Judge Beemer was nominated by the Governor to serve as the 49th Attorney General and fulfill the remainder of her term (until January of 2017). He was confirmed unanimously by the Pennsylvania Senate by a vote of 44-0.. He also served as the Vice-Chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, working to make the pardons process more accessible to the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Prior to serving as Inspector General of Pennsylvania, Judge Beemer served in the Office of Attorney General, starting in 2011, when the Attorney General of Pennsylvania asked Bruce to serve as her Chief of Staff. He routinely consulted with the Attorney General on high level criminal cases, civil matters involving the representation of state government agencies, and large-scale consumer protection actions. When a new Attorney General assumed office in 2013, she appointed Judge Beemer to serve as Senior Counsel and Chief of the Criminal Prosecutions Section. He was later appointed First Deputy Attorney General in 2014, where he oversaw all day-to-day aspects of the criminal, civil and consumer protection divisions.
Judge Beemer served as an Assistant District Attorney from 1996 until 2010, working in the General Trial Unit, the Narcotics Unit, and the Crimes Against Persons Unit of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. In 2005, Judge Beemer was promoted to Deputy District Attorney in charge of the General Trial Unit, where he supervised eighteen attorneys prosecuting roughly ten thousand cases a year. During this time, he also served as an adjunct professor teaching trial advocacy skills at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Judge Beemer lives with his wife, Jodi, and their two children in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. He received his B.A. from the University of Scranton in 1992 and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995.

Mr. Darr is an Assistant Counsel with the Pennsylvania Department of State. In that role, he serves as counsel to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and various bureaus, where he provides legal advice and guidance to the department on matters related to election administration, campaign finance, voter registration, and lobbying disclosure. Mr. Darr has served the Department of State in this role since February 2019. For his service to the Commonwealth during the pandemic-affected 2020 election cycle, Mr. Darr was presented with a Governor’s Award for Excellence. Mr. Darr also serves on the Pennsylvania State Geospatial Coordinating Board as a designee of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Mr. Darr received his Bachelor of Arts degree from York College of Pennsylvania. He received his Juris Doctor from the Widener University Commonwealth Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2018. During law school, Mr. Darr was employed as a paralegal in private practice.

Judge Charles Ehrlich was elected to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in 2011. Since January 2012, Judge Ehrlich has been assigned to the Criminal Division and now hears cases in the Homicide Program. Prior to his election as a Common Pleas Court Judge, he worked as an associate at Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman, & Goggin from 2010-2012 handling asbestos and general casualty cases. Before joining Marshall, Dennehey, Judge Ehrlich was an Assistant District Attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office from 1985-2010. He earned his BA in Political Science from Tufts University in 1976. While working in Washington from 1977- 1985 as a congressional aide, Judge Ehrlich attended law school in the evening program at American University and received his JD in 1981. Currently, he serves on the Supreme Court’s Continuing Judicial Education Board of Judges and is Vice-Chair of the County Adult Probation & Parole Advisory Committee.

Ms. Mullen is Executive Deputy Chief Counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel with the Pennsylvania Department of State. In that role, she serves as counsel to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and various bureaus, where she provides legal advice and guidance to the department on matters related to election administration, campaign finance, voter registration, lobbying disclosure, and Right to Know issues. She also oversees all election litigation matters. Ms. Mullen has served the Department of State in previous roles as Deputy Chief Counsel and Assistant Counsel and has been with the Department since January 2022. Prior to entering Commonwealth service, Ms. Mullen was Of Counsel at Pepper Hamilton LLP, where she was a member of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group and was active in pro bono work. Ms. Mullen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College where she graduated magna cum laude. She received her Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law, where she graduated cum laude and served as Articles Editor of Temple Law Review. She served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Raymond J. Broderick, U.S.D.J. of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Mullen is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and in various federal courts, including the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Douglas G. Reichley graduated from Lafayette College in 1983 with honors in Government and Law, and received his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law in 1986. Judge Reichley served in the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office from 1989-2000, rising to the position of Deputy District Attorney for violent crime prosecutions. He also served in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office from 2000-2001 in the Special Investigations Unit. Before his election to the bench, Judge Reichley served in the Pennsylvania State House from 2003-2011.
During his five terms in office, he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee as the Vice-Chairman, and also served on the Consumer Affairs, Health and Human Services, Judiciary, Professional Licensure, Transportation, and Urban Affairs Committees. He was the recipient of several recognitions for his legislative service, including being named the State Public Official of the Year by PA Bio in 2010 and the Outstanding Legislator of the Year in 2010 by the Pennsylvania Association of Schol Retirees.
Elected to the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas in 2011, he served in the Criminal and Juvenile Division of the Lehigh County Court system in 2012. From February 2013 until January 2020, he served in the Civil, Orphans’ and Family Court Divisions handling medical malpractice cases, contract disputes, land use discrepancies, car accident cases, custody and divorce cases, and Protection from Abuse Hearings. From 2020 until 2024 Judge Reichley returned to the Criminal Division and served as the Administrative Judge. In 2026, Judge Reichley was elected to the position of President Judge of the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas.
In 2019, Judge Reichley initiated the Lehigh County’s Drug Treatment Court Program to assist those affected by substance use disorders to achieve recovery and to help end the cycle of criminal activity. In 2026, Judge Reichley began the Mental Health/Wellness Court Program for those individuals suffering from mental health conditions who become involved in the criminal justice system. He has also served as co-chair of the Project Litigate Task Force to enhance courtroom advocacy for younger lawyers.
Judge Reichley is a board member of the Allentown Police Athletic League, the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council, and the Minsi Trails Council of Scouting America.

Linda Rovder Fleming is President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County. She was elected in 2009, retained in 2019, and installed as President Judge in 2024. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Fleming practiced family law for 22 years, including 18 years as a partner with Ayres, Ayres & Fleming in Johnstown.She also served as a part-time Assistant Public Defender for Cambria County from 1989 to 1994. Judge Fleming is a 1985 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and a 1988 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law, where she served as Articles Editor of The Dickinson Law Review. On April 1, 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appointed Judge Fleming to a two-year term as the first Chairperson of the Judicial Ethics Advisory Board (JEAB), the designated body to render ethics advice to members of the Pennsylvania judiciary. In 2024, the Supreme Court reappointed Fleming to an additional two-year term as Chairperson and to a six-year term as a Board member. Before creation of the JEAB, Judge Fleming served on the Judicial Ethics Committee of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges from 2011 to 2022, including as its Chairperson. As an attorney, Fleming served on the Pennsylvania Bar Association Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. She is a frequent speaker about judicial ethics and opinion writing, including as an instructor for the Pennsylvania New Judges School.

Judge Brandon Neuman was born in Pennsylvania and graduated from Canon-MacMillan High School. Judge Neuman earned his B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Richmond, his M.S.L. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and his J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law in 2009. He took office as a trial judge on the Washington County Court of Common Pleas in 2017. During his term as a trial judge, he presided over family, criminal, civil and veteran’s specialty court proceedings. Prior to joining the trial bench, Judge Neuman was elected to 4 terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives where he authored landmark legislation to reform the processing of rape kits. This legislation protects victims and the community by ensuring criminals are quickly brought to justice. Brandon Neuman also served on the House Judiciary Committee, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime Delinquency, Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, Chair of the Offense-Related Guidelines Review Subcommittee, as well as Interstate Commission for Juveniles. Judge Neuman was elected as an appellate judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in November 2025, and assumed his appellate office on January 5, 2026. Earlier in 2025, Judge Neuman was rated “Highly Recommended” for an appellate judgeship by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Prior to serving in elected office, Judge Neuman was a civil litigator for Robert Pierce and Associates and handled complex litigation.