Bucks Writs - Fall 2021 - 8

feature
MEMORIAL
JUDGE SUSAN DEVLIN SCOTT
By Chris Serpico
JUDGE SUSAN DEVLIN SCOTT
PASSED AWAY ON MAY 28, 2021,
AT THE AGE OF 76.
Although her death was noted at the time
by the Bar Association, the editors of The
Writs believed that given her stature in Bucks
County legal history, a more thorough examination of her
legacy was called for . I would like to credit Nancy Larkin
Taylor for much of the material in this column that originally
appeared in a profile several years ago .
Born in Philadelphia, Susan was the daughter of the late
Charles and Hazel Roberts Devlin . She was the beloved
wife of 51 years to William (Bill) R . Scott . She graduated
from Temple University (which she attended on a full
scholarship) with a degree in Microbiology . After spending
a year as an instructor in Temple's Biology Department, and
being awarded a graduate fellowship in Temple Hospital's
Microbiology Department, she recognized that her career
aspiration of becoming a tenured college professor was
unlikely given the scarcity of available college teaching
positions at that time .
So following the birth of her son Bill, she enrolled in law
school - at the suggestion of her husband . She attended
classes at Temple Law School's night program where
her classes were based primarily upon the schedule of
the fellow law student she commuted with from Bucks
County . A serious scholar, she was selected as a member
of the Temple Law Review while attaining her Juris
Doctorate . Upon graduation she worked for one year
as a clerk in the Federal Court for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania whereupon she was admitted to the
Pennsylvania Bar .
In 1976, she entered into legal partnership with her law
school friend, Kathryn Carlson (who had been Bucks
8
County's Master in Divorce), in what was
the first all-female law firm in Bucks County .
For fifteen years, she practiced family law
at Court & Pine streets, before her election
in 1989 as a Democrat to the Bucks County
Court of Common Pleas .
She was elected without opposition, having won both
party primaries earlier that spring when she defeated
Republican Peter Glascott . However, the groundwork
for her triumph had been in the works for several years .
She first ran for judge in 1985, but dropped out of
the campaign after two weeks when the Democratic
Committee endorsed other candidates . In 1987, she was
endorsed by the party for a court vacancy, and Governor
Robert P . Casey nominated her to fill the vacancy .
However, the Legislature eliminated the judicial seat when
President Judge Isaac Garb suggested that there was no
need to fill the vacancy because there was no backlog
in the courts . When the Legislature complied, Scott
found herself with a gubernatorial nomination, a party
endorsement and no seat to run for!
But as the saying goes, " Good things come to those who
wait, " and when Judge Oscar Bortner announced his
intention to retire in 1988, Scott easily won the backing of
the Democratic Party for the open seat and campaigned
heavily during the 1989 spring primary to capture
both party nominations, much to the surprise of most
Courthouse observers at the time . She was subsequently
retained as Judge in elections that occurred in 1999, and
2009 . She retired in 2014 .
Although her extensive background in family law made her
an immediate fit for Family Court, she quickly developed
expertise in other areas, and her judicial assignments
became more diverse as she gained judicial experience .
She especially enjoyed zoning, real estate and other more
Bucks Writs - Fall 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bucks Writs - Fall 2021
