Paid for and approved by Friends of Judge Joel
“Over my 30-plus year career as a trial and appellate lawyer, the best judges I appeared before were those who heard my client, understood my client, and thoughtfully and fairly applied the law to the facts of the case. As a sitting judge, I now strive every day to be this type of judge.”
Kenneth Joel has fought for people’s rights.
As a judge, he’s now protecting those rights.
Kenneth Joel has fought for people’s rights. As a judge, he’s now protecting those rights.
“Over my 30-plus year career as a trial and appellate lawyer, the best judges I appeared before were those who heard my client, understood my client, and thoughtfully and fairly applied the law to the facts of the case. As a sitting judge, I now strive every day to be this type of judge.”
Recommended by:
In his over thirty year legal career, Kenneth Joel has proven repeatedly that he puts people first. As a trial and appellate lawyer, he fought to protect our civil rights, voting rights, and the environment, as well as workers’ rights and our right to healthcare.
As a lawyer in private practice, he defended workers and stopped developers and industry from polluting our environment. Kenneth was Chief Deputy Attorney General under Attorney General Josh Shapiro. In this role, he led the Civil Litigation Section and protected Pennsylvania families by defending the constitutionality of laws that protect us.
For nearly five years, beginning in 2018, Kenneth served as Deputy General Counsel for Governor Wolf, representing the Governor’s office and the executive branch. In this role, Kenneth fought to protect the voting rights of every Pennsylvanian by fighting against gerrymandering to create fair congressional and state legislative districts. In the 2020 election, he successfully defended our votes by standing up to those who sought to overturn the results of Pennsylvania’s election. He also fought back against efforts to prohibit the use of mail-in ballots, and secure drop boxes, and he protected the use of ballot curing processes, ensuring that every registered voter was able to vote and that all eligible votes were counted.
Kenneth led litigation efforts to uphold Governor Wolf’s Executive Order allowing direct health care workers to join together and elect representation to better their working conditions. And he led an effort to protect the rights of union members to collectively bargain.
In 2022, Kenneth was appointed to be a Judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and confirmed by the State Senate. As a judge in the Criminal Trial Division, he presides over all stages of criminal matters to protect the civil rights of the accused and ensure those who have been harmed receive the justice they deserve. He has earned a reputation as a judge who shows up prepared to work and applies the law fairly and equitably based on what’s right instead of who’s powerful or what’s popular.