Commonwealth Court is an unusual body that requires special legal knowledge from its members. Established only in 1968, it is one of two statewide intermediate appellate courts and has a unique jurisdiction: generally issues arising from state and local government and regulatory agencies.

These subjects include tax law, insurance and utility regulation, banking, land use, labor practices and workers compensation. It is also the court that hears cases filed by or against the commonwealth. In choosing the best judges to work in this legal thicket, Republican and Democratic voters must whittle down their choices to two.

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On the Republican ballot, three candidates are vying for the two nominations. They are law partner Kevin Brobson, 38, of Middle Paxton Township near Harrisburg; Al Frioni, 46, of Mt. Lebanon, a former administrative appeals judge; and Patricia McCullough, 52, of Upper St. Clair, an attorney and former Common Pleas Court judge.

The Post-Gazette endorses Kevin Brobson and Al Frioni, both of whom are also endorsed by the Republican State Committee.

Although his office is in Harrisburg, Mr. Brobson is a partner in the Pittsburgh firm of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, and does the sort of work that is Commonwealth Court's bailiwick -- state administrative law, insurance regulation and land use. He also has some ground-floor experience of local government as a member of the planning commission in his local township.

Mr. Brobson's law degree is from Widener University and he is rated as recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

For his part, Mr. Frioni, originally from Scranton, went to the University of Pittsburgh to earn both his undergraduate and law degrees. He has been active in local civic affairs, including serving as chairman of the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority.

A former assistant to Pennsylvania Republican Sen. John Heinz, Mr. Frioni was appointed by former Gov. Tom Ridge to be an administrative appeals judge/commissioner on the Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Appeals Board -- one of the bread-and-butter subjects of the court. Gov. Ed Rendell reappointed him to the post, but he resigned it after more than 12 years to run for Commonwealth Court. He is recommended by both the state bar association and the Allegheny County bar.

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Democratic voters must pick their two candidates from a field of six. They are Daniel K. Bricmont, 44, of Avalon, an attorney; Linda S. Judson, 50, of Squirrel Hill, an attorney and former licensed practical nurse; Michael D. Sherman, 52, of Mt. Lebanon, a managing partner of a Downtown law firm; Barbara Behrend Ernsberger, 57, an attorney with a family law firm; Jimmy Lynn, 61, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge; and Stephen G. Pollock, 58, of Montgomery County, an attorney and member of the Pennsylvania State Planning Board.

The Post-Gazette endorses Daniel K. Bricmont and Michael D. Sherman.

Mr. Bricmont, a former mayor of Avalon, is chairman of the Allegheny County Air Pollution Control Advisory Board. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and its law school, Mr. Bricmont at his law firm focuses on worker's compensation and appellate practice. Indeed, he conducts classes for other lawyers on worker's comp and ethics for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the Pennsylvania Association for Justice.

He is recommended by the state bar association and highly recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association. Although a former Republican who switched to the Democrats within the last two years, Mr. Bricmont has the state Democratic Committee endorsement.

Mr. Sherman, the other Democrat we endorse, has 25 years of experience and mostly represents employers in workers' compensation and related issues. He has extensive appellate experience, having taken more than 50 cases before Commonwealth Court. He was selected in a peer evaluation by Philadelphia Magazine and Law & Politics Inc. as a 2008 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, following similar selections three times previously.

A graduate of Duquesne University law school, he comes highly recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association and is recommended by the state bar association.