Published: May 09, 2009 10:40 pm      

Cambria County judge candidate: Patrick T. Kiniry

Patrick T. Kiniry

Age: 62.

Residence: Richland Township.

Position: Cambria County’s full-time district attorney.

Education: A 1965 graduate of Bishop McCort High School, Johnstown, he received a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Vincent College, Latrobe, and his law degree from Duquesne University Law School.

Background: Had a private law practice based in Johnstown for more than 30 years until becoming full-time district attorney in 2005. Served as part-time assistant district attorney beginning in 1976, then as first assistant district attorney in 1986. Previously served three years as state and federal public defender in private practice, handled family law, personal injury, estate and trusts and municipal law, including 25 years as Richland Township solicitor.

Family: Married to former Susan Kimmel, has a daughter, two step-children and two grandchildren.



The six candidates for Cambria County judge were asked to answer nine questions from county government reporter Sandra K. Reabuck. The answers appear below.

The questions asked were:

1. What characteristics make a good country judge?

2. Why do you think you would be a good judge?

3. Are Cambria County judges too lenient in sentencing defendants in serious crimes? We hear about judges in other counties imposing stiff terms in such cases as armed robberies, vehicular homicides and embezzlements of large amounts of money, but not so much in Cambria.

4. Do you have specific suggestions for any improvements in the county court system?

5. Are too many people excused from jury duty in Cambria County? If so, what would you do to change the situation?

6. Are there too many plea bargains for criminal defendants? It seems that there are only a half-dozen trials in any one year.

7. We get a lot of calls about custody and divorce cases and unfairness by the courts in them. Should the court look at revamping how domestic relations cases are handled?

8. Are the fees too high in divorce/custody cases in Cambria County? A person has to pay $100 to get a custody issue decided and $500 for divorce or equitable distribution issues.

9. Do you think partisan elections are the best way to fill judicial seats, or should judges be appointed?



1. A good judge needs a vast knowledge of the law and courtroom procedures, administrative and communication skills and an even temperament. A good judge needs toughness to deal with criminal defendants and compassion to deal with victims. Lastly, a good judge needs common sense.

2. I have 36 years of courtroom experience trying hundreds of cases and presenting thousands of guilty pleas in criminal court. I also have a broad background in civil litigation including experience as a certified mediator, employing communication skills to settle cases involving injured plaintiffs and insurance companies. As a municipal solicitor for 25 years, I had practical experience dealing with the public on local issues. As a Cambria County full-time district attorney for more than three years – supervising 35 employees, operating under a budget of $1.1 million in tax dollars – I oversee the Cambria County Drug Task Force and the the prosecution of an average of 3,000 criminal cases per year. In summary, I have extensive courtroom and administrative experience.

3. Although I do not always agree with the courts on the type and length of punishment imposed on criminal defendants, the data made available by the Pennsylvania Commission and Sentencing guidelines do not support the implied perception that the sentences are too lenient compared to “other counties.”

The latest data provided to me, as district attorney, by the commission is a report dated June 30, 2008. The report covers all 67 counties including Blair, Bedford, Clearfield, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland – counties surrounding Cambria. According to the data, 82 percent of Cambria’s sentences are within the standard range recommended by the commission. The average for the seven-county area is 83 percent. Five percent of Cambria’s sentences are below those recommended by the commission. The seven-county average is three percent. Six percent of the Cambria’s sentences are above the recommended. The seven-county average is 4.7 percent. In summary, compared to adjoining counties, the sentences in Cambria County are tougher on the average.

4. I suggest that the court assignments – Estates and Probate, Juvenile, Domestic Relations and Children and Youth Services – should be rotated every two to three years. This would assure a fresh look at the protocol in each assigned area. I would form a citizen’s advisory committee to open the court to accessibility to public opinion on the effectiveness of the judicial system.

5. The jury pool from which criminal and civil juries are selected should be diverse. Jury service is a civic duty. Jurors should be required to be present at the jury selection process for a trial for possible service, except for those excused for illness, infirmity or undue hardship as documented to the court. In my many years of trying cases, we have had little difficultly in selecting a jury from the available pool.

6. All persons charged with a crime have the right to a trial. Conversely, all defendants have the right, when confronted with the evidence, to plead guilty.

When the police file criminal charges, all possible charges that apply to a given set of facts are filed, giving the prosecuting attorney more possible ways to obtain a conviction at trial. If an individual is convicted on all of the charges, however, the court may only be permitted, by law, to impose a sentence on some of those charges. It is referred to as “merger.” Accepting a plea to only those charges provides an efficient and cost-effective way of protecting society. It has long been the policy of the District Attorney’s Office to only accept pleas of guilty to the highest probable offenses.

7. Domestic relations cases are charged with emotion, which may account for the number of calls. If elected judge and assigned to the Domestic Relations Division, I will continue the ongoing periodic review process performed now and conduct an in-depth analysis seeking input from the employees of the domestic relations staff, the approximate 20 county attorneys who handle domestic relations cases and an appropriate number of clients who have gone through the system to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and incorporate relevant changes to improve the system, if determined necessary.

8. The current system is, in part, a user-pay system. A user-pay system relieves some of the funding burden on a county’s general fund. I support the user-pay system as it relieves a portion of those costs paid by those who do not use the system. A cost analysis should be done periodically to determine if the present fees are too high or too low to fund the mastership procedure.

9. Although a judicial campaign is arduous and costly for the candidate, I support the present system of electing vs. appointing judges. We live in a democracy and should have say in who makes judicial decisions affecting our freedom, finances, family and other relationships. The appointed, or so-called “merit system,” merely gives the decision-making process to an elite few elected individuals and powerbrokers.