R. Stanton Wettick Jr.

R. Stanton Wettick Jr.
Judge, Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania Fifth Judicial District, County of Allegheny
In office
1976–2016
Appointed byGovernor Milton Shapp (1976), Elected to 10-year term (1977), Won retention votes to ten-year terms (1987, 1997), Senior Status 2008-2016
Personal details
Born(1938-04-21)April 21, 1938
New Castle, Pennsylvania
DiedDecember 21, 2024(2024-12-21) (aged 86)
EducationAmherst College (B.A. 1960); Yale Law School (LL. B. 1963)

Ralph Stanton "Tony" Wettick Jr. was a United States judge who served on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania's Fifth Judicial District, from 1976 to 2016. He was a leading authority on discovery under Pennsylvania's Rules of Civil Procedure, was known for handling important and complex cases, and was respected by his peers and Pennsylvania's Supreme Court. As a lawyer and academic, he worked to advance the fair treatment of the poor, racial minorities, and defendants in the criminal proceedings.

Early life and education

Wettick was born on April 21, 1938 in New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Sharon, Mercer County.[1][2] He received a B.A. degree in economics from Amherst College in 1960, and his law degree from Yale University in 1963.[3][4][1]

Lawyer and teacher

Wettick was admitted to the Bar of Pennsylvania in 1964.[4] After law school, he was in the private practice of law in Pittsburgh, and became a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh Law School three years later.[1] He was given partial leave from the law school during the 1969–70 year to serve as Executive Director of the non-profit organization Neighborhood Legal Services Association,[5] which provided legal services to those who could not afford lawyers. He served in that role until being appointed to the Court of Common Pleas.[6][7] The most noteworthy case during his tenure was the years-long litigation over creation of the General Braddock School District, addressing the issue of institutionalizing segregation in public schools; eventually leading to the creation of the Woodland Hills School District.[1][8][9]

Judicial service

In 1976, Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shapp appointed Wettick to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania's Fifth Judicial District, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is one of Pennsylvania's trial courts. In 1977, Wettick was elected to the Court of Common Pleas for a ten-year term. He was later 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 because he reached the mandatory retirement age; not because he wanted to.[1][3][10][11][12]

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. Wettick began his judicial career in the Family Division,[13] eventually becoming its administrative judge; and in 1990, he was assigned to the court's Civil Division,[14] becoming its administrative judge in 2003.[15] 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,[16] and was assigned as one of its original judges.[17][18][19]

During Wettick's time as a trial court judge serving on the Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court made him chair of its Civil Procedural Rules Committee. In 2003, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court created and adopted new rules of civil procedure to make the judicial process more uniform across Pennsylvania, so the state's lawyers could more easily understand each county court'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.[20][21]

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.[22][23][24] Another example of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's respect for Wettick was its citation to a legal opinion by Wettick to support the Supreme Court's opinion in Shafer Electric and Construction vs. Mantia; although appellate courts are not bound by decisions of trial level courts in Pennsylvania.[25][26]

Wettick also addressed significant legal issues over the years that reached Pennsylvania's Supreme 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.[27] 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.[28][29]

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.[30][31] 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.[32][33] 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,[34][35][36][37] with opinions from the 1978-1983 period alone being over 400 pages.[38]

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.[39][40] In 2012, well after becoming a senior judge, he issued a detailed legal opinion on the scope of discovery permitted of private Facebook content.[41] In 2016, he refined his own earlier influential opinion on discovery in medical malpractice cases.[42]

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.[43]

Author and academic

Wettick authored an authoritative legal treatise on Pennsylvania civil procedure.[44][1] Wettick taught at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law before becoming a judge,[1] and after becoming a judge served as an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law for decades.[7][45]

In 1964, as a young lawyer, Wettick wrote Modifying Unemployment Compensation Acts to Remove Obstacles to Work Sharing.[46] Also while a lawyer, Wettick co-authored The Effectiveness of State and Local Regulation of Handguns: A Statistical Analysis, for the Duke Law Journal;[47] and Miranda in Pittsburgh—A Statistical Study that was part of an Oxford University Press publication on the impact of United States Supreme Court decisions.[48] In 1970, he authored A Study of the Assignment of Judges to Criminal Cases in Allegheny County – The Poor Fare Worse, for the Dusquesne Law Review.[49]

Legacy, honors and appointments

Future Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Max Baer said of Wettick, "He is always impartial, always fair, always dispassionate. He can grasp the most difficult issues or factual situations quickly, and he arrives at correct decisions and fair decisions. He handles a tremendous case load". Other judges, including Baer, would seek advice from Wettick.[2]

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

  • He received the Everyday Leader Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association (2006)[7]
  • Although sitting in Pittsburgh, Wettick received a lifetime achievement award from the Legal Intelligencer, a daily law journal located in Philadelphia, 300 miles away at the other end of Pennsylvania (2015)[18]
  • He received the highest rating for diligence and ranked best for impartiality, legal ability and temperament in a trial lawyers survey by the Allegheny County Bar Association (1997)[7]
  • Wettick was a member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania's Civil Procedural Rules Committee, including his designation by the Supreme Court as committee vice-chair and chair (1992-2016)[10][50][51]
  • Wettick served as chair of the following: the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Domestic Relations Committee, the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges Commission, the Ad Hoc Medical Malpractice Committee to Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy, and the Three-Judge Coordinating Court for Silicone Implant Litigation[44]
  • In October 2024, courtroom 815 of the Allegheny County Courthouse was dedicated in Wettick’s honor[52]
  • The Civil Litigation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association established the Wettick Award at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law to be given annually to the student attaining the highest grade in the school's Pennsylvania Practice course[53]

Personal life and death

Wettick died on December 21, 2024. He was survived by his wife Dr. Nancy Hazlett (a psychiatrist); three children, his daughter Caroline having predeceased him in 2000; and four grandchildren.[1][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Obituary: R. Stanton 'Tony' Wettick | Longtime Allegheny County judge and expert on civil procedure". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 24, 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  2. 1 2 Pitz, Marylynne (April 16, 1997). "Wettick gets high marks from peers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. A–10.
  3. 1 2 "R. Stanton Wettick, Jr". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  4. 1 2 "R. Stanton Wettick, Jr. Judge Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  5. ↑ "Neighborhood Legal Services". Neighborhood Legal Services. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  6. ↑ "School of Law News November 1969, University of Pittsburgh School of Law". scholarship.law.pitt.edu. 1969.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Allegheny County Judge Receives 'Everyday Leader' Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association". www.pabar.org. November 9, 2006. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  8. ↑ "Attorney Proposes Possible Mergers". The Pittsburgh Press. May 22, 1973. p. 9.
  9. 1 2 "R. Stanton Wettick Jr. '60 | 1960 | Amherst College". www.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  10. 1 2 "2016 Annual Report, The Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, County of Allegheny (page 24)" (PDF).
  11. ↑ "General Information". Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  12. ↑ "Courts of Common Pleas | Courts | Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania". www.pacourts.us. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  13. ↑ "Departments of the Family Division". Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  14. ↑ "Departments of the Civil Division". Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  15. ↑ "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" (PDF). December 19, 2003.
  16. ↑ "Commerce & Complex Litigation". Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  17. ↑ Ward, Hon. Christine A. (2009). "Commerce Court: A Small Part of the Chief's Legacy". Duquesne Law Review. 47 (3): 574.
  18. 1 2 "2016 Annual Report, The Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, County of Allegheny" (PDF).
  19. ↑ Brown, David M. (February 8, 2002). "Top lawyers praise Wettick". Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  20. ↑ "Report of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Supreme Court" (PDF). 2003.
  21. ↑ "Pennsylvania Supreme Court Unifies Counties' Motions Rules". The Legal Intelligencer. November 17, 2003. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  22. ↑ "Wettick Named to Hear FJD's Suit Against Rotwitt, Obermayer Firm". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  23. ↑ Campisi, Jon. "FJD settles legal malpractice case against local law firm for $4 million". Pennsylvania Record. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  24. ↑ Campisi, Jon. "Judge overseeing FJD's legal malpractice suit orders former Pa. Supreme Court justice to sit for deposition". Pennsylvania Record. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  25. ↑ "Shafer Electric and Construction v. Raymond and Donna Mantia, in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Western District, No. 28 WAP 2013 (footnote 5)" (PDF). April 8, 2014.
  26. ↑ "207 Pa. Code r. 202 - Citing of Opinions of Other Courts". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  27. ↑ Flaherty, Justice John P. "Penn Piping, Inc. v. INA Insurance Company, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 529 Pa. 350 (1992)".
  28. ↑ Ominsky, Harris (June 25, 2007). "Allegheny Co. Judge RulesPa. Assessment Law Unconstitutional". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  29. ↑ Hall, Peter (April 29, 2009). "Allegheny Reassessments Invalid, Supreme Court Holds". The Legal Intelligencer.
  30. ↑ "Wettick, Leading Voice on Discovery, To Retire". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  31. ↑ Cummins, Daniel E. "Wettick Rules on Facebook Discovery Issues". Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. ↑ Cary, Jean M. (2006). "Rambo Depositions Revisited: Controlling Attorney-Client Consultations During Depositions". Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. 19: 367, 379–380.
  34. ↑ Wettick, Hon. R. Stanton (1983). Allegheny County Discovery Opinions (1978-1983). Allegheny County Law Library.
  35. ↑ Hon. R. Stanton Wettick, Jonathan Glick, and Joel Fishman. "Allegheny County discovery opinions (1978-1986)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ↑ Wettick, Hon. R. Stanton (1996). Wettick on Discovery: Index to Allegheny County Discovery Opinions. Pennsylvania Bar Institute.
  37. ↑ Hon. R. Stanton Wettick, Catherine Gerhold, Joel Fishman, Jonathan Glick, and Tina Petrusic. "Allegheny County discovery opinions (1995-1998)".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ↑ Wettick, Hon. R. Stanton (1983). Allegheny County discovery opinions (1978-1983). Allegheny County Law Library. OL 2284585M.
  39. ↑ Heafey, Richard J. "RETURN TO SENDER?: Inadvertent Disclosure Of Privileged Information".
  40. ↑ Eakin, Justice Michael (January 29, 2010). "Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Fleming, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Case No. 32 WAP 2007". Archived from the original on September 2, 2024.
  41. ↑ Trail vs. Lesko, No. GD-10-017249, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County (July 3, 2012).
  42. ↑ Needles, Zach (July 20, 2016). "Pa. Trial Judge Clarifies Do's and Don'ts of Med Mal Discovery". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  43. ↑ Lawler, Tara S.; Caridad, Jacquelyn A.; Milner, Scott A. (June 13, 2012). "Pennsylvania Proclaims eDiscovery Independence from Federal Model". JDSupra.
  44. 1 2 "PA Forms for the Rules of Civil Procedure (Includes book + digital download)". Bisel Publishing. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  45. ↑ "The Honorable R. Stanton Wettick | PittLaw". www.ieee-iri.org. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  46. ↑ Wettick, Jr., R. Stanton (November 1964). "Modifying Unemployment Compensation Acts to Remove Obstacles to Work-Sharing". Labor Law Journal. 15 (11): 702–707.
  47. ↑ 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. doi:10.2307/1371564. JSTOR 1371564.
  48. ↑ Seeburger, Richard H.; Wettick, Jr., R. Stanton (1973). Becker, Theodore L.; Feeley, Malcolm M. (eds.). Miranda in Pittsburgh—A Statistical Study, in The Impact of Supreme Court Decisions. Oxford University Press.
  49. ↑ Wettick Jr., R. Stanton (1970). "A Study of the Assignment of Judges to Criminal Cases in Allegheny County - The Poor Fare Worse". Dusquesne Law Review. 9 (1): 51–65.
  50. ↑ "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" (PDF). June 28, 1999.
  51. ↑ "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" (PDF). June 20, 2002.
  52. ↑ "Judge Wettick Courtroom Dedication Ceremony Oct. 8 - ACBA Blog". www.acba.org. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  53. ↑ "University of Pittsburgh Honors Convocation" (PDF). 2019. p. 25.
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