The Pennsylvania state courts, in the last decade, have been more hostile to minor party and independent candidates than any other state’s courts. They have upheld rulings of lower state courts that levy fees of over $80,000 against candidates who submit petitions that are held not to have enough valid signatures. They have upheld the district residency requirement for circulators in primaries, even though in 2002 a federal court in Pennsylvania struck down residency requirements for circulators working on general election petitions. The state courts even ruled in 2003, in the Zulick case, that state courts need not follow federal court rulings that strike down certain Pennsylvania ballot access laws.

Also, some Pennsylvania judges have participated in these election law cases despite having close ties to the attorneys on one side, and in the fee cases, they have taken no notice that petition challengers were state employees using state government resources for those petition challenges.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court continues to be embroiled in scandal. See this story.