David Wecht
Democrat | Pennsylvania
Candidate Profile
EvaluationInProgress
BIOGRAPHY
Name
David Wecht
Party
Democrat
Election Year
2025
Election
PA General School Boards, Judicial & Municipal Races
Race
Supreme Court (retention of Wecht)
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
Yale University, New Haven, CT, B.A., 1984
The Yale Law School, New Haven, CT, J.D., 1987
WORK & MILITARY
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Law Clerk (Hon. George MacKinnon), 1987-1988
AFFILIATIONS
Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership (PEAL), Board of Directors (2013 - Present)
The Pennsylvania Society, Member (2013 - Present)
The American Law Institute, Member (2013 - Present)
Duquesne University School of Law, Adjunct Professor (1997 - Present)
University of Pittsburgh (GSPIA), Adjunct Professor (2010 - Present)
Allegheny Co. Bar Association, Member / Volunteer / Panelist (1993 - Present)
American Bar Association, Member
The Amen Corner, Board of Governors (2002 - 2005)
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2012 - Present
Judge of the Court of Common of Pleas (5th Distr.), 2003 - 2011
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Judge of the Superior Court, 2003
ENDORSEMENTS
LIBERAL (1)
Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania
OTHER (1)
1000 Women Strong PAC
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Northwest Good Government PAC (2015)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (4)
Local, County, and District Democratic Organizations (2015); PA Future PAC (2015); State Democratic Party Organizations (2015); Young Democrats of America (2011)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (41)
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (2016); American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (2015); American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (2015); American Federation of Teachers (2015); Association of Pennsylvania State College & University Faculty (2015)
OTHER INFORMATION
David Wecht has been rated as Activist by iVoterGuide in 2025.
In Majoritarianism Run Riot: Christian Supremacism and the Religion Clauses ,Wecht warns that recent Supreme Court rulings undermine the Establishment Clause, elevate Christian majoritorianism, and threaten religious pluralism in the U.S.
Article, Tablet Magazine: Justice Wecht discusses antisemitism calling it a "national crisis" and urges action through education and free speech.
Article In the Jewish Chronicle on Justice Wecht calling for activism against antisemitism.
In Allegheny Reproductive Health v. Pennsylvania DHS (2024), Justice Wecht agreed that leaving abortions out of Medicaid coverage was unconstitutional and is always sex-based discrimination. He suggested the Court look at other parts of the constitution to help protect abortion rights in the future.
For more details, see case summary. Justice Wecht's concurring opinion.
In Pennsylvania v. Barr (2021), Justice Wecht joined the majority holding that under Pennsylvania's Medicaid Act, the smell of marijuana alone cannot justify a warrantless vehicle search.
For more details, see case summary.
In Pennsylvania Democratic Party v. Boockvar (2020), the Court considered statewide mail-in voting rules for the 2020 election. Justice Wecht joined the which held that drop boxes and satellite offices were allowed, ballots could be counted if received three days late because of COVID-19, ballots without a secrecy envelope could be rejected, and poll watchers had to live in the county. Justice Wecht wrote separately, saying the law should be clearer so the court can follow it exactly.
For more details, see case summary.
In Commonwealth v. Alexander (2020), Philadelphia police searched the defendant's car without a warrant after smelling marijuana and found heroin. Justice Wecht joined the majority, which overruled Commonwealth v. Gary and said that under the Pennsylvania Constitution, warrantless vehicle searches require probable cause and exigent circumstances (urgent reason), giving stronger privacy protection than the federal standard for warrantless vehicles searches.
For more details, see case summary.
