Meet Anthony Stefanski

A Philadelphia native born to working class parents, Anthony developed a strong work ethic early on. Anthony took on a lifeguarding job at the oceanfront to help pay his way through Holy Spirit High School, a local Catholic school best known for its powerhouse rowing team. Though they weren’t considered an elite prep school, he and his teammates proved themselves on the water, earning victories that put their school in the history books. His talent in rowing earned him a four-year athletic scholarship to Temple University, where he became a national champion and collected four varsity letters. Without rowing, college might not have been an option for him.

After Temple, Anthony went to Widener University’s Delaware Law School and kicked off his legal career clerking for Judge Nicholas D’Allesandro in Civil Motions Court. He then joined the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, where he quickly moved up to the Major Trials Unit—the first in his class to do so. Judge Ricardo C. Jackson personally asked him to be his courtroom ADA, a role that had him trying at least one serious jury trial per week. Later, Anthony took his experience to the Law Office of A. Charles Peruto, where he traveled all over Pennsylvania handling high-profile cases. It was there that he saw how the justice system could be stacked against defendants, especially those with poor legal representation. Judges started appointing him to cases where they feared an innocent person might be convicted, including a particularly high-stakes murder trial in Lehigh County.

With nearly 40 years in the courtroom, Anthony eventually took on a new role representing union members in criminal cases, taking him to courtrooms across almost every county in Pennsylvania. Throughout his career, he’s been in court nearly every day, handling everything from routine cases to life-altering trials. Now, he’s running for a seat on the Court of Common Pleas because he knows firsthand what it takes to be a fair and compassionate judge. His goal is simple: to make sure every person who walks into his courtroom—whether accused of a crime or seeking justice—gets a fair shot.