Both parties nominate Palumbi for Common Pleas judge
An assistant public defender won both party nominations to run for Butler County Common Pleas Court judge in the general election in November, according to results from Tuesday’s primary.
Maura Palumbi won the Republican and Democratic party nominations over Assistant District Attorney Terri Schultz, who also cross-filed for both nominations, for the judge’s seat, according to incomplete and unofficial results.
With all 89 precincts reporting, Palumbi received 12,436 votes on the Republican ballot and 5,927 votes on the Democratic ballot, and Schultz received 6,327 votes on the Republican ballot and 4,162 votes on the Democratic ballot, according to unofficial results.
“I’ve spent the past five months working incredibly hard on this campaign,” Palumbi said. “Through door knocking and attending community events, I’ve met a countless number of community members, and I’m honored that voters recognized I have the experience, ethics, integrity and judicial temperament necessary of a judge.
“I look forward to continuing to meet more citizens and ask for (their) ongoing support through the general election. I look forward to the opportunity to serve as the next judge.”
Palumbi will appear on both party ballots in the general election in November. Common Pleas Court judges are elected to 10-year terms.
The winner will fill a vacancy created when Judge William Shaffer retired in January 2022. Shaffer now serves as a senior judge.
Before being hired as an assistant public defender in 2016, Palumbi received her bachelor of science degree in business administration and her law degree from Duquesne University. After law school, she served as a law clerk for Common Pleas Court Judge Kelley Streib, who, at the time, was presiding over the court's family division.
Palumbi then went on to own and operate her own law practice as a general practitioner with a focus on family law.
While in private practice, she received a court appointment to serve as a parent advocate in dependency cases and as a Guardian ad Litem to represent the interest of children in custody matters. She also was appointed to the board of arbitrators, which hears civil cases.
As an assistant public defender, she participates on the Butler County Drug Treatment Court team, which strives to reduce recidivism.
Outside of the courtroom, Palumbi serves on the Lighthouse Foundation board of directors and recently served on the Butler YMCA board of managers.
She and her husband, Bobby, a local attorney, have two daughters.
Palumbi has been endorsed by the Brady Paul Memorial Lodge 54 of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents active and retired state police troopers in Butler, Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer and Armstrong counties.
Terri Schultz received her law degree and master’s degree in English from Duquesne University in 1991. She practiced family law and juvenile law and took pro bono cases through Neighborhood Legal Services.
She was hired as the county’s first full-time public defender in 1994 and remained in that role until 2016 when she was hired as an assistant district attorney.
While she worked in the public defender’s office, she said she assisted in creating the Behavioral Health Court. She returned to working in that court after she joined the district attorney’s office.
Schultz said she has served as a volunteer for Butler Little Theatre for more than 20 years. She is a mother and grandmother.
