Election 2023: Donald Bermudez For Magisterial Judge

Candidates running in the May 16 primary election are providing background about themselves and their positions on the issues to voters in these profiles, which will run in Patch individually for each candidate.

LEVITTOWN, PA —Donald Bermudez is running as a Democrat for a six-year term as Magisterial Judge 07-01-10 in the May 16 primary election against Milt Warrell, and State Rep. John Galloway.

All three candidates have cross-filed to run on the Democratic and Republican party tickets in the primary election.

Biographical Information

Name: Donald Bermudez

Age: 34

Town of residence: Levittown

Position sought: Magisterial District Judge 7-1-10 (Falls Township)

Are you an incumbent? No.

What Towns Does Your Position Cover? Fallsington, and parts of Levittown, Fairless Hills, and other small neighborhoods in and of Falls Township.

Party affiliation: Democratic

Family: Married to Mildred Isaac-Bermudez since 2017, and our children are Golden (girl,1) and Roberto (boy, 3), mother is Catherine Bermudez (1st generation Levittowner), father is Luis Bermudez. Brothers are Douglas Bermudez and Robin Bermudez (deceased).

Education: Juris Doctorate from Drexel University’s School of Law, and Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Temple University.

Occupation: Attorney at Law in based in Center City Philadelphia.

1. What are the top issues currently facing your position and how do you plan to address them?
The biggest thing for courts and judges today to instill confidence in society is for judges to respect people’s time and money when imposing court orders, to work hard and long hours for the community when necessary, and to have great patience for all parties appearing in all cases, especially criminal cases as people need to know that the judge takes the job seriously, and he/she should listen and hear people out thoroughly before making any decisions Lastly a district judge must have compassion and care for the community.

Specifically, for criminal cases and similar matters coming through the district court and Court of Common Pleas, crimes driven by the motivation of drug addiction, youthful naivety, and poverty have been a focus in recent years.

If elected district judge for 7-1-10, I would work with the players of the criminal justice system to create new and enhance old diversion programs, which help criminal defendants rehabilitate, make victims whole again, and save the court and parties’ time. Diversion programs help unclog the courts, but they must help the victims too, not just the defendants.

If elected judge of 7-1-10, I would use my creativity, knowledge, and experience to help victims become whole again and also help defendants to rehabilitate and be law-abiding productive citizens. For civil cases and landlord-tenant matters, to me and to the Founders of this great country, as judge it is very important to impose the rule of law despite the anticipated and sometimes undesired result, as that is most fair to all parties, society, and the people’s expectations of the law. In my experienced opinion, nothing is worse than when lay-people visit a court, see a case, and the ‘law’ is so clear and plain in writing, but applied in court to achieve or avoid undesirable results.

2. Identify specific goals or ideas you have to enhance life in your position:
My only goals are (1) to impose the rule of law; (2) to uphold strict adherence to Due Process by hearing all parties out fully; and (3) to never let politics sway my decision on a legal issue.

Magisterial District judge is a non-partisan position and most states do not have elections for judges because of that fact. This should be highlighted even more in Pennsylvania where two of the candidates in this race for MDJ 7-1-10 are legally unqualified to legally sit as the position they seek right now.

The people of Falls Township deserve a judge trained, experienced, and knowledgeable in practicing law and running a court of law. If a judge’s background is completely devoid of any training, knowledge and learning in the practice, philosophy and the Rule of Law, then he cannot be guided by something they have never learned or practiced. “[Judges] are to govern by promulgated established laws, not to be varied in particular cases, but to have one rule for rich and poor, for the favorite at court, and the countryman at plow.” —John Locke, Second Treatise of Government.

3. What in your experience or background prepares you for election to office?
I have specific experience as a quasi-judge in civil cases. Since 2015, I have sat as arbitrator in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, Civil Trial Division as part of three-lawyer panels hearing and deciding civil cases up to $50,000 in controversy (it is majority rule, I would serve as one of the three lawyers on the panel).

I have been a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania since 2014, and I literally started appearing in court (primarily PA district courts and its Philly equivalent the “Municipal Court”) while still in law school and have done so at least 3 to 5 times per week ever since 2014. I have interned with the New Jersey Public Defender and the Defender Association of Philadelphia during the second and third years of law school at Drexel.

Then, once licensed I have practiced primarily the types of cases that start, and, or finish in District Courts such as the following types: criminal, traffic, non-traffic tickets, landlord-tenant evictions, code enforcement, and civil claims up to $12,000.

In PA, I have represented defendants in criminal cases hundreds of times including hundreds of preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings (the first two hearings of a criminal court case). My experience includes litigating approximately twenty landlord-tenant trial by judges, dozens of criminal trials by jury and judge, gun-rights restoration petitions, traffic trials by judge, child abuse trials by judge, appeals from District Courts appeals to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and more (these figures do not include the hundreds of cases that were ‘settled’ prior to a contested evidentiary hearing or trial of some sort).

Prior to opening “Donald Bermudez, Attorney at Law”, I worked for Nino V. Tinari & Associates and Eugene P. Tinari at The Tinari Law Firm in Philadelphia as an associate attorney. I’ve appeared in every district court in Bucks, its city equivalent and dozens over the Commonwealth. I’d be able to effectively and efficiently run 7-1-10 from day 1. Thank you.