Published: February 03, 2009 11:39 pm      

Ebensburg lawyer enters judicial race

EBENSBURG — Stressing a commitment to helping victims of crime and “the little guys” in legal cases, Gary Jubas, a local lawyer who is a part-time prosecutor, announced Tuesday that he’s running for county judge.

Jubas, 49, a Barr Township resident, made the announcement at the Cambria County Courthouse before 50 supporters, family members, courthouse workers and several officeholders.

Two county judgeships are up for election this year. Three other lawyers have entered the race. All, including Jubas, are Democrats but are cross-filing for nominations by the Democratic and Republican parties.

Jubas was introduced by Blair Pawlowski, a lawyer and former president of the county bar association, who described him as a compassionate person with small-town qualities: Hard-working, disciplined and family-oriented.

As an assistant district attorney, Jubas said, “I’ve handled every type of criminal case from bad checks, to thefts, burglaries, sexual assaults, drug cases and murders. I look at myself as an everyday courtroom attorney and veteran prosecutor who wants to make sure victims’ rights are protected.”

He was part of the prosecution teams in the high-profile trials that led to the convictions of Rickie Gaddis of Johnstown for the rape, torture and assault of several children and Mark Leach of New Germany for the murder of state Trooper Joseph Sepp.

Jubas now is assigned to prosecute juvenile criminal cases. He described it as a learning experience that made clear a big difference in prosecuting adults and juveniles.

“The objective (in juvenile cases) is to get those kids back on track to lead productive lives,” he said.

As for civil litigation, Jubas said, “I pride myself of helping the little guys such as Krispy Kream ‘mom and pop’ drive-in owners in Belsano who had to battle the national company over the use of the name.”

When he was a law clerk, Jubas said he helped the late Judge Eugene Creany develop a system of “clustering” the more than 1,200 asbestos lawsuits being filed in order to move the cases more quickly through the court system.

Jubas also has been active in his community. He has served as a PIAA football referee for

20 years and has coached or sponsored midget league baseball, girls softball and youth basketball teams.

Frank Frontino of Northern Cambria is serving as Jubas’ campaign committee chairman.