Richard A. Ireland has announced his candidacy for re-election tot he Office of Magisterial District Judge 46-3-02 for a fourth term. Ireland has been nominated and elected by both the Democrat and Republican parties every time he has run for the office, which he has held since 1994.
District 46-3-02 includes Clearfield and Curwensville Boroughs and Lawrence and Pike Townships.
Ireland has made the Magisterial District Court his career. Now in his eighteenth year on the bench of the MDC, Ireland believes that his legal education and personal experience in all areas of civil and criminal law and his extensive experience in all duties and functions of the court provide him with the necessary qualifications for re-election to the office of Magisterial District Judge. He pledges fair and impartial decisions protecting your rights and property. He hopes for your continuing support in the primary election.
A lifelong resident of Clearfield County, Ireland graduated from Clearfield Area High School in 1972. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, which he attended while working nightshift at North American Refractories in Curwensville. He graduated from Penn State “With Highest Distinction” in 1981, receiving a B.A. in political science. He attended Dickinson School of Law, where he received a Juris Doctorate degree in 1984. He also passed the Pennsylvania Bar examination and was licensed to practice law in 1984.
He served a one-year clerkship with Clearfield County Judge John K. Reilly Jr. following law school, and then commenced a private civil practice of law in Clearfield. He served as assistant public defender from 1985-1988 and then as first assistant district attorney for Clearfield County from 1988-1994, when he was first elected to the MDC.
Ireland has succesfully presented civil and criminal cases before MDC’s, Courts of Common Pleas and Appellate Courts of the Commonwealth. He has extensive experience handling cases ranging from summary level citations to criminal homicide. He was appointed Guardian Ad Litem to represent the interests of children in the custody of Clearfield County Children, Youth and Family Services and has served as solicitor for several municipalities.
Ireland resides in Lawrence Township with Gloria, his wife of 37 years. They have two children and two grandchildren. He is a member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Clearfield and belongs to numerous fraternal, charitable and sportsman’s organizations and is an avid hunter and fisherman.