HOLLIDAYSBURG — A three-member panel of Superior Court judges will convene at 9 a.m. today and Wednesday at the Blair County Courthouse where they are scheduled to review about 30 appeals, including at least two from Blair County.

Superior Court Judge Vic Stabile is expected to preside with President Judge Emeritus John Bender and Senior Judge Dan Pellegrinit sitting on the panel.

The panel’s schedule shows legal arguments to be offered in some cases and a review of submitted briefs on others.

Today’s schedule shows a Blair County case involving Gerell Shepard of Altoona who filed appeals after he was convicted in October 2021 of four drug-selling offenses. He was sentenced to 10 to 42 years’ incarceration.

Wednesday’s schedule includes a Blair County case involving Brian Cinko, formerly of Altoona and Johnstown, who is challenging evidence leading to his convictions on multiple child sex offenses including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and others. He was sentenced to 84.5 to 189 years’ incarceration.

No specific time is assigned to each case on a schedule that also calls for review of appeals developing from Cambria, Allegheny, Erie, Jefferson, Warren and other western Pennsylvania counties.

“Special sessions are a great opportunity for the public to see firsthand how an appeals court works,” Panella said in a statement released Monday. “It gives litigants a chance to listen to their cases being argued, while providing a unique experience for local students to observe the court in session.”

Students from local high schools and colleges have been invited and are expected to attend, Blair County President Judge Elizabeth Doyle said recently.

Court Administrator Nicole Smith also said last week that the panel will bring its own staff, including a court crier.

Typically, the Superior Court hears arguments in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia but it occasionally holds special sessions in other counties.

While some Superior Court sessions are videotaped for later broadcasting via the Pennsylvania Cable Network, Communications Director Stacey Witalek of the state’s Unified Judicial System said last week that cameras won’t be allowed in the Blair County courtroom where the panel is convening.

Created in 1895, the Superior Court annually hears about 8,000 appeals from county courts addressing objections raised within criminal, civil, domestic relations and orphans’ court claims.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.