Two Lancaster County Court judges will be at the top of the primary ballot as they both seek retention to a second 10-year term in the courthouse.

Judges Joseph C. Madenspacher and David L. Ashworth, if retained, would continue presiding over criminal and civil court cases.

Voters can choose to vote yes or no to keep the judges on the 15-member bench for another term. Lancaster County judges earn an annual salary of  $152,115.

During their first term in office, both Ashworth and Madenspacher handled a number of high-profile criminal cases, including several homicide cases.

Madenspacher most recently presided over the trial of Abraham Sanchez Jr., one of four young men charged with the death of Ray Diener of Elizabethtown.

The judge also handled such well-publicized  homicide cases as those of Micah Stewart, convicted of killing his Columbia girlfriend and dumping her body in a wooded area, and Francisco David, who set fire to his ex-girlfriend's city home, killing her four young children who were trapped inside.

During his first term on the bench, Ashworth also handled the cases of a number of young murderers, including David Ludwig, who killed his girlfriend's parents in Warwick Township and took the girl to Illinois; Jesse Dee Wise, who killed six members of his family in Leola, and Alex Kreider, who broke into his best friend's home, killing the 16-year-old friend and his parents.

Madenspacher worked in the district attorney's office for 25 years, the last eight as the county's district attorney, before he was elected to his first term as judge 10 years ago.

A graduate of Penn State University and Temple University School of Law, Madenspacher served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam and as a staff attorney for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Madenspacher, 63, and his wife, Lisa, an artist, live in Lititz. They are the parents of one daughter.

Ashworth, 53, worked for 20 years in civil law, including personal injury and product liability cases, before becoming a judge.

A graduate of Gettysburg College and the Delaware Law School of Widener College, Ashworth moved to Lancaster and practiced law with two law firms before establishing his own group, Wagman, Ashworth, Kreider & Wright.

He and his wife, Kathy, live in East Hempfield Township, and they are the parents of three daughters.


Staff writer Janet Kelley can be reached at jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026.