R. Stanton Wettick Jr. Explained

R. Stanton Wettick Jr.
Office:Judge, Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania Fifth Judicial District, County of Allegheny
Appointer:Governor Milton Shapp (1976), Elected to 10-year term (1977), Won retention votes to ten-year terms (1987, 1997), Senior Status 2008-2016
Education:Amherst College (B.A. 1960); Yale University (LL. B. 1963)
Country:United States
Birth Date:1938
Birth Place:Sharon, Mercer County, Pennsylvania
Term Start:1976
Term End:2016

Ralph Stanton Wettick Jr. is a retired United States judge who served on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania's Fifth Judicial District,[1] from 1976 to 2016. He was a leading authority on discovery under Pennsylvania's Rules of Civil Procedure, and was known for handling important and complex cases.

Judicial service

In 1976, Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shapp appointed Wettick to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1977, Wettick was elected to the Court of Common Pleas for a ten-year term, and was successful in retention elections for additional ten-year terms in 1987 and 1997. In 2007, he took senior status at age 69. He retired from the court in 2016.[2] [3]

Wettick served the court in many capacities, and became especially well known in Allegheny County, and across Pennsylvania's courts, for his rulings on discovery matters.

He began his judicial career in the Family Division,[4] eventually becoming its administrative judge; and in 1990, he was assigned to the court's Civil Division,[5] becoming its administrative judge in 2003.[6] He handled thorny and complex cases in the Civil Division, and in 2007, he helped create a specialized business court and complex litigation track, the Commerce and Complex Litigation Center,[7] and was assigned as one of its original judges.[8] [9] [10]

In 2003, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court created and adopted new rules of civil procedure to make judicial process more uniform across Pennsylvania, so the state's lawyers could more easily understand each county's local practices. In creating these new rules, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Judicial Council's Committee on Statewide Rules collaborated with the Supreme Court's Civil Procedural Rules Committee chaired by Wettick.[11] [12]

In 2011, Wettick was specially assigned to preside over a case in Philadelphia's First Judicial District, where that judicial district itself along with the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit; and where he had to address issues such as whether a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice could be subject to a deposition in that case.[13] [14] [15]

As an example of Pennsylvania courts respect for Wettick, although appellate courts are not bound by decisions of trial level courts, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court cited a decision by Wettick to support its opinion in Shafer Electric and Construction vs. Mantia.[16] Other cases show the significant issues he addressed over the years that reached Pennsylvania's highest court. In one case, a majority of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court followed Wettick's decision concerning dismissing cases that a plaintiff failed to actively pursue over a period of years.[17] In another case, involving a dispute over the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's property tax laws, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court agreed with some, though not all, of Wettick's reasoning in addressing the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's real estate assessment laws.[18] [19]

Wettick and Pennsylvania discovery practice

Wettick may have been most well known for his legal opinions concerning discovery under Pennsylvania's Rules of Civil Procedure, and their impact on other judges and attorneys.[20] [21] Both in Pennsylvania and nationally, for example, his legal opinion in Acri v. Golden Triangle Management Acceptance Company was referenced as a key opinion providing detailed reasons opposing harsh restrictions on attorneys defending depositions that were being imposed by other judges, inside and outside of Pennsylvania, and in federal as well as state courts.[22] [23] His opinions on a wide range of discovery issues were considered important enough as guidance that they have been collected and published as standalone volumes,[24] [25] [26] [27] with opinions from the 1978-1983 period alone being over 400 pages.[28]

In legal cases involving discovery of materials that would usually be protected from disclosure to an opponent because of a privilege, but where those materials had been inadvertently disclosed to the opponent, Wettick's 1995 opinion in Minatronics Corp. v. Buchanan Ingersoll has been influential in Pennsylvania, including in the Supreme Court.[29] [30] In 2012, well after becoming a senior judge, he issued a detailed legal opinion on the scope of discovery permitted of private Facebook content.[31] In 2016, he refined his own earlier influential opinion on discovery in medical malpractice cases.[32]

In 2012, Wettick led the committee that drafted Pennsylvania's rules on electronic discovery, which had significant differences from the federal rules on the same subject.[33]

Legal career

Wettick was admitted to the Bar of Pennsylvania in 1964.[34] Before becoming a judge, he was executive director of the non-profit organization, Neighborhood Legal Services Association,[35] that provided legal services to those who could not afford lawyers.[36]

Education

Wettick received a B.A. degree from Amherst College in 1960, and his law degree from Yale University in 1963.[2] [34]

Honors and appointments

Wettick has been appointed to the following positions or received the following awards and honors, among others;

Author and academic

Wettick authored a legal treatise on Pennsylvania civil procedure.[39] He served as an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law for decades.[36] [40]

As a young lawyer, in 1964, Wettick wrote Modifying Unemployment Compensation Acts to Remove Obstacles to Work Sharing.[41] Also while a lawyer, Wettick co-authored, The Effectiveness of State and Local Regulation of Handguns: A Statistical Analysis,[42] and Miranda in Pittsburgh—A Statistical Study.[43]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: General Information . 2024-06-11 . Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania . en-US.
  2. Web site: R. Stanton Wettick, Jr. . 2024-06-11 . Ballotpedia . en.
  3. Web site: 2016 Annual Report, The Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, County of Allegheny (page 24).
  4. Web site: Departments of the Family Division . 2024-06-11 . Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania . en-US.
  5. Web site: Departments of the Civil Division . 2024-06-11 . Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania . en-US.
  6. Web site: December 19, 2003 . In the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, In Re: Designation of Administrative Judges of the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Fifth Judicial District, No. 250 Judicial Classification Docket No. 2 .
  7. Web site: Commerce & Complex Litigation . 2024-06-11 . Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania . en-US.
  8. Ward . Hon. Christine A. . 2009 . Commerce Court: A Small Part of the Chief's Legacy . Duquesne Law Review . 47 . 3 . 574.
  9. Web site: 2016 Annual Report, The Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, County of Allegheny.
  10. Web site: Brown . David M. . February 8, 2002 . Top lawyers praise Wettick . 2024-06-11 .
  11. Web site: 2003 . Report of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Supreme Court .
  12. Web site: November 17, 2003 . Pennsylvania Supreme Court Unifies Counties' Motions Rules . 2024-09-02 . The Legal Intelligencer . en.
  13. Web site: Wettick Named to Hear FJD's Suit Against Rotwitt, Obermayer Firm . 2024-09-02 . The Legal Intelligencer . en.
  14. Web site: Campisi . Jon . FJD settles legal malpractice case against local law firm for $4 million . 2024-09-02 . Pennsylvania Record . en.
  15. Web site: Campisi . Jon . Judge overseeing FJD's legal malpractice suit orders former Pa. Supreme Court justice to sit for deposition . 2024-09-02 . Pennsylvania Record . en.
  16. Web site: April 8, 2014 . Shafer Electric and Construction v. Raymond and Donna Mantia, in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Western District, No. 28 WAP 2013 (footnote 5) .
  17. Web site: Flaherty . Justice John P. . Penn Piping, Inc. v. INA Insurance Company, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 529 Pa. 350 (1992) .
  18. Web site: Ominsky . Harris . June 25, 2007 . Allegheny Co. Judge RulesPa. Assessment Law Unconstitutional . 2024-09-02 . The Legal Intelligencer . en.
  19. News: Hall . Peter . April 29, 2009 . Allegheny Reassessments Invalid, Supreme Court Holds . The Legal Intelligencer.
  20. Web site: Wettick, Leading Voice on Discovery, To Retire . 2024-06-11 . The Legal Intelligencer . en.
  21. Web site: Cummins . Daniel E. . Wettick Rules on Facebook Discovery Issues . 2024-06-11.
  22. Thomas G. Wilkinson, Jr. and Jordan Fox . July 2013 . Encouraging Attorney Civility During Depositions: The Enduring Impact of Hall v. Clifton Precision . Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly . 107.
  23. Cary . Jean M. . 2006 . Rambo Depositions Revisited: Controlling Attorney-Client Consultations During Depositions . Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics . 19 . 367, 379–380.
  24. Book: Wettick, Hon. R. Stanton . Allegheny County Discovery Opinions (1978-1983) . 1983 . Allegheny County Law Library . EN.
  25. Web site: Hon. R. Stanton Wettick, Jonathan Glick, and Joel Fishman . Allegheny County discovery opinions (1978-1986) .
  26. Book: Wettick, Hon. R. Stanton . Wettick on Discovery: Index to Allegheny County Discovery Opinions . Pennsylvania Bar Institute . 1996.
  27. Web site: Hon. R. Stanton Wettick, Catherine Gerhold, Joel Fishman, Jonathan Glick, and Tina Petrusic . Allegheny County discovery opinions (1995-1998) .
  28. Web site: Wettick . Hon. R. Stanton . 1983 . Allegheny County discovery opinions (1978-1983) .
  29. Web site: Heafey . Richard J. . RETURN TO SENDER?: Inadvertent Disclosure Of Privileged Information .
  30. Web site: Eakin . Justice Michael . January 29, 2010 . Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Fleming, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Case No. 32 WAP 2007. .
  31. Trail vs. Lesko, No. GD-10-017249, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County (July 3, 2012).
  32. Web site: Needles . Zach . July 20, 2016 . Pa. Trial Judge Clarifies Do's and Don'ts of Med Mal Discovery . 2024-09-02 . The Legal Intelligencer . en.
  33. Web site: Lawler . Tara S. . Caridad . Jacquelyn A. . Milner . Scott A. . June 13, 2012 . Pennsylvania Proclaims eDiscovery Independence from Federal Model . JDSupra.
  34. Web site: R. Stanton Wettick, Jr. Judge Profile on Martindale.com . 2024-06-11 . www.martindale.com.
  35. Web site: Neighborhood Legal Services . 2024-06-11 . Neighborhood Legal Services . en-US.
  36. Web site: November 9, 2006 . Allegheny County Judge Receives 'Everyday Leader' Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association . 2024-06-11 . www.pabar.org.
  37. Web site: June 28, 1999 . In the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, In Re: Designation of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Civil Procedural Rules Committee, No. 318 Civil Procedural Rules, Docket No. 5, Order .
  38. Web site: June 20, 2002 . in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, In Re: Redesignation of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Civil Procedural Rules Committee, No. 367 Civil Procedural Rules Docket No. 5 .
  39. Web site: PA Forms for the Rules of Civil Procedure (Includes book + digital download) . 2024-06-11 . Bisel Publishing . en.
  40. Web site: The Honorable R. Stanton Wettick PittLaw . 2024-06-11 . www.ieee-iri.org.
  41. Wettick, Jr. . R. Stanton . November 1964 . Modifying Unemployment Compensation Acts to Remove Obstacles to Work-Sharing . Labor Law Journal . 15 . 11 . 702-707.
  42. Geisel . Martin S. . Roll . Richard . Wettick, Jr. . R. Stanton . 1969 . The Effectiveness of State and Local Regulation of Handguns: A Statistical Analysis . Duke Law Journal . 647-676.
  43. Book: Seeburger, Richard H. . Miranda in Pittsburgh—A Statistical Study, in The Impact of Supreme Court Decisions . Wettick, Jr. . R. Stanton . 1973 . Oxford University Press . Becker . Theodore L. . Feeley . Malcolm M..

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