Josh Maines has announced his candidacy for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Clearfield Co.
“It is with pleasure and deep reverence for the enormous gravity of the position that I announce my candidacy for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Clearfield County.
My career as an attorney has yielded both a wide breadth of experience as well as respect from my peers. My decision to run for Judge is not a mere career choice or quest for power or status. I am running because I have the experience, character, and passion for fairness and justice that this position demands.
I am honored to have previously served this County as Assistant District Attorney for five and a half years, successfully prosecuting matters in jury trials, as well as in state and federal appeals. During that time, I was fortunate to gain the mutual respect of law enforcement officers, which has persisted throughout my private practice.
As a private attorney, I have practiced in many areas of law, including criminal defense, protecting landowners in real estate matters, negotiating energy leases, family law, estates, estate planning and litigation in a variety of civil matters. Although I started out practicing primarily in Clearfield County, my work has expanded to include practice before the Courts of Common Pleas in 26 counties. This extensive practice has allowed me to experience the varying processes and differing programs and perspectives among courts throughout the state. I am confident that these experiences will crucially assist me should I be blessed to serve as judge. I have also handled many cases in appellate courts for both criminal and civil related matters. Over the course of my years in private practice, I was honored to be named “Best Criminal Attorney” by Best of Tri-County and “Best Criminal Defense Lawyer” in The Progress Readers’ Choice Awards.
Beyond the practice of law, I have served on the Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Advisory Commission. Working with a group of talented Commissioners from across the state, I assisted in reviewing policy and making recommendations to improve both the safety of law enforcement officers and the public.
I am a member of the Clearfield County, Centre County, and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. I have served as Music Director and Worship Leader at Gethsemane United Methodist for the last fourteen years and have participated in many community and charity events, including overdose awareness, domestic violence awareness, and cancer benefit events.
But most importantly, I am the father of five amazing kids (Dominic, Angelo, Nicolette, Santana and Sophi) and the husband of the best wife and life-partner a person could ever ask for (Nikki). These will always be the greatest honors of my life.
I look forward to further discussing my candidacy with you throughout this campaign. My pledge to you is this: if I am entrusted with the grave responsibilities of this office, I promise to bring justice, fairness and respect for the rule of law to every matter that comes before me. And frankly, I will bring the common sense and life experiences of a first-generation college student from a modest working-class family, who has not forgotten the struggles and blessings that have led me to where I am today.”
