Program Book for the 250th Anniversary - Flipbook - Page 10
JUSTICE DAVID N. WECHT
David N. Wecht was elected to a 10-year term on The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in November 2015, and began his
service as a Supreme Court Justice in January 2016. He won his retention election in November 2025, and began his
second 10-year term on the Supreme Court in January 2026.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is the oldest appellate court in the United States of America, and predates the nation’s
independence by several decades. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania was established by the Commonwealth’s Judiciary
Act of 1722, and traces its roots to the Provincial Appellate Court created in 1684.
Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice Wecht served as a Judge of The Superior Court of Pennsylvania from January
2012 to January 2016, and as a Judge on The Court of Common Pleas for Pennsylvania’s Fifth Judicial District from
February 2003 to January 2012.
From January 2009 to January 2011, Justice Wecht served by appointment of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as
Administrative Judge of the Fifth Judicial District’s Family Division, which encompasses both domestic relations cases and
cases of juvenile dependency and delinquency. As Administrative Judge, Justice Wecht designed and implemented several
reforms and innovations, including the Unified Family Court, the local rule on parenting coordination, and improved conflict
counsel appointments in juvenile cases.
Prior to taking the bench, Justice Wecht was twice elected as the Allegheny County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’
Court. In that capacity, he pioneered innovations that included creation of a free will consultation program for seniors and
authorship of a state law that prevents accused murderers from controlling their victims’ estates.
Justice Wecht is a 1984 Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale, where he was a National Merit Scholar and
earned Yale College Distinction in both history and political science. At Yale Law School, Justice Wecht was selected
as Notes Editor of the Yale Law Journal, and as an Editor of both the Yale Law & Policy Review and the Yale Journal of
International Law. While a law student, he also volunteered as a certified legal intern in the Office of the State’s Attorney
in New Haven, Connecticut, and provided pro bono legal assistance to inmates of the Green Haven Correctional Facility in
Stormville, New York.
After graduating from Yale Law School in 1987, Justice Wecht served as Law Clerk to U.S. Circuit Judge George MacKinnon
on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Washington, D.C., and received the Award for Distinguished Service in
that position. From January 1989 until taking the bench in February 2003, Justice Wecht continuously practiced law, first at
Williams & Connolly in Washington, DC, then at Katarincic & Salmon in Pittsburgh, PA, and finally at The Wecht Law Firm in
Pittsburgh, PA. He was licensed to practice in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., and was admitted to the bar of
numerous state and federal courts, including The Supreme Court of the United States.
