Radnor Man Running for County Judge

Bryn Mawr resident Steve Chanenson is running for a seat on the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas. 

Chanenson is currently Associate Dean for Faculty Research and a professor at Villanova University’s School of Law. He is also chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing.

The commission creates statewide sentencing guidelines for common pleas judges to consider, and provides advice on sentencing policy that is designed to improve the system, making it more “rational and human,” Chanenson said.

The endorsed Democratic candidate will cross-file as judges are able to do, meaning that both Republicans and Democrats can vote for any candidate in the Primary Election. If elected judge, he would need to leave his job at Villanova, he said.

“I think I can make a difference,” Chanenson told Radnor Patch. “It’s another chapter and opportunity to serve. To look back at what I’ve done over the course of my career it really has been for me all about service.”

Locally, Chanenson is a member of Radnor Township’s Charter Review Committee.

Chanenson said it is important to have good judges on the county level because the Court of Common Please is “an opportunity to provide a neutral and fair forum for people to bring their disputes." 

"It does matter because the justice system can touch every one of us, often in unexpected ways. You want to know when you walk into court you’re going to have a judge that is independent and will treat everyone equally,” he said.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. in economics and M.S. in criminology), Chanenson received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. He clerked for the Honorable William J. Brennan, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States. While at the Supreme Court, he also served in the Chambers of the Honorable David H. Souter. 

Chanenson also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to the Criminal Division in Chicago before joining the Villanova Law faculty. Read his entire biography here.

“What I would bring to the bench beyond 20 years experience in the law is that recognition that people don’t want to end up in court, but if they’re there they want a judge that works hard and follows the Constitution.”