October 14, 2025 • 8 mins
Maria Battista is a Republican candidate running for judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court in a special election scheduled for November 4, 2025
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Seven thirty six, twenty four to go on till eight o'clock.
This is the R. Jay Harris Breakfast Show with Holly Love,
Bill meads Off. He's back tomorrow and we want to
welcome back to the show Maria Bautista, who is running
as a candidate for Superior Court. Election day coming up.
(00:21):
Good morning, Maria, how are you.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm doing well, Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
It's great to have you back. It's been some time
since you've been on, and I imagine a lot of
campaigning has gone on since then.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
There has been there's been no day off for me.
I've worked seven days a week since the beginning and
I'll continue to do that until November fourth.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
That sounds good. Before we talk about you and Yu,
let's talk about what Superior Court is, so everybody understands
it's really one notch under the Supreme Court here in
the Commonwealth.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Correct, That's correct. You know, think of our court system
in Pennsylvania like a triangle. At the very tip of
a triangle is our Pennsylvania Supreme Court. But sitting right
below the Supreme Court are two intermediate appellate courts, the
Superior Court and the Commonwealth, And right below that are
(01:17):
our Court of Common please, which most people are familiar
with that court because that's in every county. And then
our minor courts like magisterial district courts, well, the Superior Court.
You know, here's several cases a year, thousands of cases
a year. There's a fifteen judge court. If someone believes
that a lower court in your court or common police
(01:38):
committed an air for whatever the reason, in all criminal
cases we're talking about all in Pennsylvania, they are appealed
to the superior court. That's about sixty percent of the CASELOK.
And then what I ask people is, you know, do
you care about your family and children? Do you care
about your property us? Do care about contracts if you're
(01:59):
involved in them? You care about businesses? If a family
passes away, what happens to the assets of that family member,
if there's a dispute, if you're injured, and so much more.
All of those types of cases in that realm are
civil cases. So most civil cases, in all criminal cases,
if appealed from you know, the county Court of Common Police,
(02:20):
wherever you're located in Pennsylvania, go to the Superior Court.
And what people don't realize, and I've heard this across
the campaign trail. Well, that might be fine and dandy,
but you know I'm never going to be a party
to an action in the Superior Court. You know I'm
exually you know how old I am, and I don't
see why I have any impact and why I should vote. Well,
(02:43):
the thing is, there are fifteen judges. Most cases are
heard by a panel of three judges. It's random. You
don't know what three judges you're going to get on
that court to hear the case, and in about ninety
seven percent of cases they become final. I means those
decisions impact all Pennsylvanians. I had some district attorneys, for example,
(03:05):
recently talked to me when I went to their county saying,
you know, this case came down in the Superior Court
recently and it's impacting my ability to keep my community
safe because of the decision and how it came down
in the Superior Court. So you don't have to be
a party to an action, the decisions become precedent, and
they are decisions that impact all Pennsylvanians, even if you're
(03:28):
never a party to an action.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Appeals are not automatic, though they really have to. In
the Court of common please have to show that they
have reason to appeal to the Superior Court correct well.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
If a decision was made or a verdict was made
by jury, you have a right to appeal. You have
to do it timely, you have to do it properly.
If there's you know, if there's issues with your appeal,
it could be rejected. But you have that right to appeal.
It doesn't mean you're going to win. There's an issue.
You know, sometimes there's a number of issues that are
(04:05):
brought before the Superior Court, but that is something that's
very important. Those are fundamental right that you have. If
there's a final decision in a court or common please
you have a right to appeal that decision. The ones
that people are most familiar other than criminal cases for
the Superior Court are those involving families and children in
(04:25):
best in you know, the child custody cases. We all
know people that have been involved in a custody dispute
and if those are appealed and they think that the
judge gave the child or children to the wrong parent
or another party, then they have a right to appeal
that and then we go to the Superior Court. So
(04:47):
this Court's very important. Yeah, this says you know, I
was talking to an energy company in the Southwest and
the one person said, you know, to us, the statute
was clear on its face of what this meant in
the Superior Court when it went up on appeal that
it didn't mean that, it meant something else. Well, so
(05:08):
every time something is drilled for by any company, not
just that energy oil gas company, they're all impacted by
that additional cost. So again you don't have to be
a party to be impacted by the decision in that court.
And that's why people should be voting.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, well we should be voting in every election. And
I do agree that this is an important one. There
are other things on there like retention of judges and
also you know my local township commissioners and what have you. Well,
you do have a well rounded background in that you
were an assistant DA Commonwealth Attorney and you've been through
(05:54):
you know, as a mediator, So it sounds like you
know the job that you describe. That's what you're about.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yes, I have the most diverse background as a candidate
as a practicing lawyer, but I also was a hearing examiner.
So when you look at the sixty percent approximate of
cases being criminal, I believe, I'm not one hundred percent certain.
I believe I'm the only candidate that's practiced criminal law
at any given time in their career. And the other
(06:27):
forty percent, like I said, is dealing with family and
children's property matters, contracts, business matters, state issues, personal entry.
And there's a variety of cases in those. My civil practice,
when I had one, dealt with family matters, whether it
was divorced child custody, adoption, property settlements. I've done real
(06:47):
estate matters. I've done oil and gas. I even was
an abstractor before I went to law school for a
law firm that did oil and gas, which is a
big issue for our commonwealth right now. You know, I've
done contracts even when I served for the military, not
active duty. I would never serve like our veterans for
those that are currently serving, but I was a civilian.
(07:10):
I took two additional years to be certified as a
contracting officer. So even at the federal level, I have
experienced a lot of experience dealing with contracts, not only
in a private practice, but also at the federal level.
You know, and the personal entry. I did a little
bit of personal entry and insurance defense work when I
(07:30):
first started in nineteen ninety three, and then as a
hearing examiner under Governor Corbett, and excuse me, I went
into the next administration, Governor Wolfe, But I was a
hearing examiner for over three years. So I've issued hundreds
of decisions. Now that's a different type of law. That's
administrative law. It's not a civil and criminal that would
go to superior But I've issued hundreds of decisions, and
(07:52):
if those cases were ultimately appealed, they would go to
the Commonwealth Court, which is a sister court.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
With that, I have to push pause and we need
to get everybody out to vote. Maria Batista, good luck.
I know you have some exciting days ahead of you
here before we get to election day.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Well, thank you so much for having me on your show.
I certainly appreciate your listeners listening to what I have
to say, and I look forward to their support, and
I appreciate you again for having me on your show.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Thank you so much, our pleasure. Take care, Maria Batista.
It is seven forty five. What's happening today?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
This guy's are calm the guns are silent a new
Middle East.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You are the president of the day's news, hostages being released.
Who's going to be the international security forces? On Open
the Government, Day thirteen of the shutdown. Pired of looking
at your ugly, old, slippery baptob, you don't have to
any longer. Call PJ. Fitzpatrick.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
The Jacuzzi shower system from PJ.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Fitzpatrick
Seven thirty six, twenty four to go on till eight o'clock.
This is the R. Jay Harris Breakfast Show with Holly Love,
Bill meads Off. He's back tomorrow and we want to
welcome back to the show Maria Bautista, who is running
as a candidate for Superior Court. Election day coming up.
(00:21):
Good morning, Maria, how are you.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm doing well, Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
It's great to have you back. It's been some time
since you've been on, and I imagine a lot of
campaigning has gone on since then.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
There has been there's been no day off for me.
I've worked seven days a week since the beginning and
I'll continue to do that until November fourth.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
That sounds good. Before we talk about you and Yu,
let's talk about what Superior Court is, so everybody understands
it's really one notch under the Supreme Court here in
the Commonwealth.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Correct, That's correct. You know, think of our court system
in Pennsylvania like a triangle. At the very tip of
a triangle is our Pennsylvania Supreme Court. But sitting right
below the Supreme Court are two intermediate appellate courts, the
Superior Court and the Commonwealth, And right below that are
(01:17):
our Court of Common please, which most people are familiar
with that court because that's in every county. And then
our minor courts like magisterial district courts, well, the Superior Court.
You know, here's several cases a year, thousands of cases
a year. There's a fifteen judge court. If someone believes
that a lower court in your court or common police
(01:38):
committed an air for whatever the reason, in all criminal
cases we're talking about all in Pennsylvania, they are appealed
to the superior court. That's about sixty percent of the CASELOK.
And then what I ask people is, you know, do
you care about your family and children? Do you care
about your property us? Do care about contracts if you're
(01:59):
involved in them? You care about businesses? If a family
passes away, what happens to the assets of that family member,
if there's a dispute, if you're injured, and so much more.
All of those types of cases in that realm are
civil cases. So most civil cases, in all criminal cases,
if appealed from you know, the county Court of Common Police,
(02:20):
wherever you're located in Pennsylvania, go to the Superior Court.
And what people don't realize, and I've heard this across
the campaign trail. Well, that might be fine and dandy,
but you know I'm never going to be a party
to an action in the Superior Court. You know I'm
exually you know how old I am, and I don't
see why I have any impact and why I should vote. Well,
(02:43):
the thing is, there are fifteen judges. Most cases are
heard by a panel of three judges. It's random. You
don't know what three judges you're going to get on
that court to hear the case, and in about ninety
seven percent of cases they become final. I means those
decisions impact all Pennsylvanians. I had some district attorneys, for example,
(03:05):
recently talked to me when I went to their county saying,
you know, this case came down in the Superior Court
recently and it's impacting my ability to keep my community
safe because of the decision and how it came down
in the Superior Court. So you don't have to be
a party to an action, the decisions become precedent, and
they are decisions that impact all Pennsylvanians, even if you're
(03:28):
never a party to an action.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Appeals are not automatic, though they really have to. In
the Court of common please have to show that they
have reason to appeal to the Superior Court correct well.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
If a decision was made or a verdict was made
by jury, you have a right to appeal. You have
to do it timely, you have to do it properly.
If there's you know, if there's issues with your appeal,
it could be rejected. But you have that right to appeal.
It doesn't mean you're going to win. There's an issue.
You know, sometimes there's a number of issues that are
(04:05):
brought before the Superior Court, but that is something that's
very important. Those are fundamental right that you have. If
there's a final decision in a court or common please
you have a right to appeal that decision. The ones
that people are most familiar other than criminal cases for
the Superior Court are those involving families and children in
(04:25):
best in you know, the child custody cases. We all
know people that have been involved in a custody dispute
and if those are appealed and they think that the
judge gave the child or children to the wrong parent
or another party, then they have a right to appeal
that and then we go to the Superior Court. So
(04:47):
this Court's very important. Yeah, this says you know, I
was talking to an energy company in the Southwest and
the one person said, you know, to us, the statute
was clear on its face of what this meant in
the Superior Court when it went up on appeal that
it didn't mean that, it meant something else. Well, so
(05:08):
every time something is drilled for by any company, not
just that energy oil gas company, they're all impacted by
that additional cost. So again you don't have to be
a party to be impacted by the decision in that court.
And that's why people should be voting.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, well we should be voting in every election. And
I do agree that this is an important one. There
are other things on there like retention of judges and
also you know my local township commissioners and what have you. Well,
you do have a well rounded background in that you
were an assistant DA Commonwealth Attorney and you've been through
(05:54):
you know, as a mediator, So it sounds like you
know the job that you describe. That's what you're about.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yes, I have the most diverse background as a candidate
as a practicing lawyer, but I also was a hearing examiner.
So when you look at the sixty percent approximate of
cases being criminal, I believe, I'm not one hundred percent certain.
I believe I'm the only candidate that's practiced criminal law
at any given time in their career. And the other
(06:27):
forty percent, like I said, is dealing with family and
children's property matters, contracts, business matters, state issues, personal entry.
And there's a variety of cases in those. My civil practice,
when I had one, dealt with family matters, whether it
was divorced child custody, adoption, property settlements. I've done real
(06:47):
estate matters. I've done oil and gas. I even was
an abstractor before I went to law school for a
law firm that did oil and gas, which is a
big issue for our commonwealth right now. You know, I've
done contracts even when I served for the military, not
active duty. I would never serve like our veterans for
those that are currently serving, but I was a civilian.
(07:10):
I took two additional years to be certified as a
contracting officer. So even at the federal level, I have
experienced a lot of experience dealing with contracts, not only
in a private practice, but also at the federal level.
You know, and the personal entry. I did a little
bit of personal entry and insurance defense work when I
(07:30):
first started in nineteen ninety three, and then as a
hearing examiner under Governor Corbett, and excuse me, I went
into the next administration, Governor Wolfe, But I was a
hearing examiner for over three years. So I've issued hundreds
of decisions. Now that's a different type of law. That's
administrative law. It's not a civil and criminal that would
go to superior But I've issued hundreds of decisions, and
(07:52):
if those cases were ultimately appealed, they would go to
the Commonwealth Court, which is a sister court.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
With that, I have to push pause and we need
to get everybody out to vote. Maria Batista, good luck.
I know you have some exciting days ahead of you
here before we get to election day.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Well, thank you so much for having me on your show.
I certainly appreciate your listeners listening to what I have
to say, and I look forward to their support, and
I appreciate you again for having me on your show.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Thank you so much, our pleasure. Take care, Maria Batista.
It is seven forty five. What's happening today?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
This guy's are calm the guns are silent a new
Middle East.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You are the president of the day's news, hostages being released.
Who's going to be the international security forces? On Open
the Government, Day thirteen of the shutdown. Pired of looking
at your ugly, old, slippery baptob, you don't have to
any longer. Call PJ. Fitzpatrick.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
The Jacuzzi shower system from PJ.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Fitzpatrick
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