Three from area are appointed federal judges

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court President Judge C. Darnell Jones II spent most of the spring of 2007 crisscrossing Pennsylvania in a bid for the Democratic nomination in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court race - and lost.

Yesterday, he was rejoicing in a new job - a seat on the federal bench.

Jones was one of two Common Pleas Court judges who, along with a veteran Center City defense lawyer, won Senate confirmation yesterday for the coveted lifetime appointments.

"I am proud and appreciative," Jones said, shortly after the Senate vote.

Jones was among a group of five Gov. Robert P. Casey appointed to the Philadelphia bench in 1987 to restore public confidence in the aftermath of a scandal in which a number of city judges had been caught accepting envelopes of cash from leaders of the Roofers Union.

This time, it was the late governor's son, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), along with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.), who backed Jones for the federal judgeship.

Jones, Bucks County Common Pleas Court Judge Mitchell Goldberg, and Center City lawyer Joel H. Slomsky were among 10 judicial nominees from across the nation confirmed at the end of a week in which the focus in Washington has been mostly on the economic crisis.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said it was unusual to have so many confirmations this late in a presidential election year.

He said only about 34 judicial vacancies remained nationwide, compared with about 100 at the end of President George H.W. Bush's term and about 85 at the close of President Bill Clinton's term.

Jones, 58, earned his law degree from American University Washington College of Law. Before becoming a judge, he practiced law at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, where he served as chief of the Family Court Division. He also worked for the Citizens Crime Commission.

Slomsky, a Republican from Montgomery County, said yesterday was an "amazing day in my life" - and he was jubilant about becoming a federal judge.

"It's a humbling experience," he said. Slomsky, 63, is in private practice, specializing in trial and appellate work. He earned his law degree from New York Law School. He formerly served as a special attorney for the Philadelphia Strike Force of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Goldberg, 49, a Republican, has been a judge in Bucks County since 2003. He was nominated by Gov. Mark S. Schweiker. Goldberg is a former assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia who earned his law degree from Temple University School of Law. Goldberg declined to comment on his confirmation.