Christine Donohue

Early life

Donohue was born in Coaldale, Pennsylvania and grew up in nearby Lansford, and is the daughter of a United Mine Worker and a union seamstress. She attended St. Peter and Paul's Elementary School and graduated from Marian Catholic High School in Hometown, Pennsylvania. She also studied as an undergraduate and graduate student at East Stroudsburg State College, where she received a bachelor of art's degree in political science. Donohue is a graduate of the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, where she earned her Juris Doctor has been an adjunct professor. She also served on the Duquesne Law Review.

Career

Donohue worked in private practice for 27 years as a personal injury attorney and in commercial litigation. She served as a judge of the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles complaints against judges, and sat on the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which handles complaints against lawyers. Starting in 2008, Donohue has served on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the busiest appellate court in the United States. She participated in about 7,000 decisions on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania during her tenure there. Donohue has also served on the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, and was chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board.

Donohue ran as a Democrat for Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2015, and was part of a Democratic sweep of all three court vacancies, along with Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht. They defeated Republican candidates Judith Olsen, Michael George, and Anne Covey, in a campaign that saw more than $15 million in donations from special interests. Donohue received a "highly recommended" rating from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which noted her reputation for "intelligence, conscientiousness and objectivity".