State Senate approves Powell's nomination to vacant Lackawanna County judgeship
Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell will be the next judge on the county Court of Common Pleas.
The state Senate voted 44-4 on Tuesday to approve Powell's nomination and those of several other judicial nominees Gov. Josh Shapiro tabbed to fill court vacancies elsewhere in the state. The full Senate vote came a day after the state Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nominations with favorable recommendations.
When sworn in, Powell will fill the seat on the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas that Judge Julia Munley vacated in 2023 to assume a position on the federal bench. He'll serve as county judge until at least January, but will also run for a full 10-year judicial term this year.
'My professional experience is an accumulation of many years of hard work, a commitment of justice and the rule of law,' Powell told the judiciary committee Monday. 'I will bring those same qualities to the bench and be a fair and impartial jurist, and I'll be committed to the integrity of our courts, protecting individual rights and the due process of law.'
The vacancy Powell is now set to fill was created in 2023, when former President Joe Biden nominated and the U.S. Senate confirmed Munley to serve as a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Munley filled the federal court vacancy created when District Judge Robert Mariani assumed senior status.
When Powell becomes a county judge, First Assistant District Attorney Brian Gallagher will become district attorney until at least January. Gallagher confirmed Monday that he'll run for a full four-year term as district attorney this year, when the office and the county judgeship are on the ballot.
Powell will be sworn in as a county judge Friday during a ceremony scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Lackawanna County Courthouse. Gallagher will be sworn in there as district attorney shortly thereafter, officials said.
Powell became the first Democrat elected district attorney in Lackawanna County since President Richard Nixon's administration when he won that office in 2017. He was reelected in 2021.
Among other prosecutorial accomplishments during his tenure, Powell 'revitalized the stagnant investigation into the disappearance of Robert Baron Sr., which occurred a year before he assumed office and is arguably the most notorious murder case of the 21st century in Lackawanna County,' per a news release from the DA's office.
Powell charged Justin Schuback with first-degree murder after investigators found buried remains of the missing Old Forge restaurateur, and secured a guilty verdict last year after trying the case before a jury in Lackawanna County Court.
The news release also credits Powell with reviving the 2013 cold case of the shooting death of Melissa Rocuba in Simpson. Prosecutors charged her husband, Bruno Rocuba, with her murder in 2022. Rocuba ultimately pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced last month to 12-to-40 years in state prison.
Powell will preside over civil cases as a county judge, the news release notes.
'I truly loved serving the people of Lackawanna County as District Attorney, and I look forward to continuing my service on the Court of Common Pleas,' he said in a statement Monday. 'I will treat all litigants and attorneys with respect, give all parties a fair opportunity to be heard, and render prompt decisions in a simple, straightforward manner in accordance with the law and established facts.'
Efforts to reach Powell on Tuesday were not immediately successful.
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