Debra Todd at a glance
- Current role
- Chief Justice
- Jurisdiction
- Pennsylvania · State
- Judicial service
- Active
Debra Todd
Chief Justice · Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2008-present
- Sworn in as Chief Justice on January 20, 2023
- On October 1, 2022, following the death of Justice Max Baer, Todd became the first woman Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- Began her legal career as a litigation attorney at U.S. Steel Corp. (1982–1987), followed by a private law practice focusing on complex civil litigation, including commercial, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, employment, and environmental cases.
- Debra McCloskey Todd is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the state’s highest court and the oldest appellate court in the United States
- Official site: Pennsylvania Supreme Court – Justice Debra Todd Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania
Education
- obtained a B.A. with honors from Chatham College in 1979, a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1982 (Law Review), and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2004
- University of Virginia-Main Campus — J.D.
Additional information
- She was retained in 2017 with the highest vote total for any Pennsylvania office that year
- Her accolades include the Villanova University Law Medallion Award (2017), Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Chatham University (2008), and multiple awards from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Women’s Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania, and the American Law Institute
- Practitioner, 2007-2007
- In 2007, she was elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, becoming only the second woman in the court’s 342-year history to hold a seat.
- Elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court in 1999, serving until 2007.
- Born October 15, 1957.
- Date of birth: 1957-10-15
- Veterans Treatment Courts and the Council on Elder Justice in the Court
- As Chief Justice, Todd leads the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, oversees the Unified Judicial System, and has final authority on Pennsylvania law, including in death penalty and election cases
- She was admitted to practice before Pennsylvania state and federal courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court
- Birth place: Ellwood City
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Exhibits
Statewide
For Pennsylvania Common Pleas proceedings, statewide Pa.R.J.A. 1910 prohibits courtroom broadcasting, recording, and photography unless an exception or judicial authorization applies; the rule also recognizes judge-authorized electronic or photographic means for evidence presentation.
the use of electronic or photographic means for the presentation of evidence201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom ↗
Sources
Identity source checked August 22, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 2, 2026.
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 22, 2026
View Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania official judicial roster ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View 201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom ↗