Commonwealth Court judges need specialized knowledge. They hear appeals on cases in complicated niches of the law -- issues involving state and local government, regulatory agencies and cases filed by or against the state.

Subjects like tax law, insurance, utility regulation, banking, land use, labor practices and worker's compensation are the bread and butter of Commonwealth Court. The challenge for voters is to choose candidates with the expertise, intelligence and experience to handle this unique legal territory.

Four candidates -- two Republicans and two Democrats -- are on the Nov. 3 ballot for two seats. The best of the lot are Republican Kevin Brobson and Democrat Linda Judson.

Mr. Brobson, 38, lives in Middle Paxton and has an office in nearby Harrisburg, but he is a partner in the Pittsburgh law office of Buchanan, Ingersoll and Rooney, where he works on the sort of cases that typically come before Commonwealth Court. He is rated recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association (he was not rated by the Allegheny County bar because he doesn't practice locally).

Ms. Judson, 51, lives in Squirrel Hill. While we did not endorse her in the six-way Democratic primary, she is a good candidate with an interesting background -- a practical nurse who went on to become a lawyer in a variety of demanding jobs. She works for the Downtown firm of Fried, Kane, Walters, Zuschlag & Grochmal. As the state bar noted in recommending her, she has been an outstanding practitioner in worker's compensation. Although the local bar said she was "not recommended at this time," she has picked up a wealth of endorsements that support her candidacy.

Also on the ballot is Republican Patricia A. McCullough, who was recommended by the state bar, but rated "not recommended at this time" by the local association. Despite her good legal credentials, testimony in the preliminary hearing for her husband, Allegheny County Councilman Charles P. McCullough, who faces criminal charges in a case involving an elderly widow's trust fund, claimed that Mrs. McCullough tried to keep secret a $10,000 donation from the widow to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh when Mrs. McCullough was its executive director.

The other Democrat on the ballot is Barbara Behrend Ernsberger, a family law attorney who was rated "not recommended" by the state bar and "unqualified" by the local bar -- an unusual assessment that voters should take as a red flag.

On Commonwealth Court, Pennsylvanians would be well served by Kevin Brobson and Linda Judson.

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