Perry Mason, Abraham Lincoln inspired Charles Conway as lawyer, Export-area district judge

Charles Conway’s retirement didn’t last long.

After nearly a quarter-century on the bench as magistrate in Export, Conway retired last month.

But he’s already had the gavel back in his hand as he filled in for his successor, Judi Petrush, during part of last week.

“When I was a kid, I watched ‘Perry Mason’ — that was required viewing on Saturday nights. I kind of always wanted to be this sort of Abraham Lincoln-type of lawyer who people could turn to for help. I was never the corporate-lawyer type,” said Conway, 72, who grew up in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood and later the South Hills. “Twenty-four years later, here we are.”

Before he ever thought about law school, Conway spent much of his childhood at the former Burke Glen amusement park in Monroeville, which was owned by his mother’s side of the family. His father worked for U.S. Steel and was transferred to Youngstown, Ohio, where Conway attended Cardinal Mooney High School. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1973, and then returned to the Pittsburgh area, where he graduated from Pitt law school in 1979.

In the late ’90s, Conway was considering a run for Franklin Regional School Board, but on the last possible day — Conway said just more than 24 hours away from the election filing deadline — he flipped a coin and opted to try for district judge instead.

“Judge Bob Scott had been the magistrate, and I’d practiced in front of him for 20 years,” Conway said. “Bob wanted his son to be magistrate and continue the family tradition the way Bob followed in his father Ed’s footsteps. But the son didn’t want to do it, and when I met with them at the Republican committee nomination meeting, I started thinking about what an interesting job magistrate would be.”

Conway battled not just the clock but also a nasty snowstorm and managed to collect exactly enough signatures to make it onto the ballot, winning election in the fall of 1999.

He learned quickly that for most people, appearing in district court was usually their only exposure to the legal system.

“Judge (John) Blahovec used to have a sign outside his chambers that said, ‘No Case Too Small,’ and that’s fitting,” Conway said.

In addition to hearing criminal cases — Conway estimates he’s heard about 7,000 during his time on the bench — district judges also settle minor disputes and handle private complaints.

“People get angry with one another, and thank God they bring those matters to court instead of acting on that anger,” he said. “I have to take the ‘first bite at the apple,’ so to speak. But mostly the only time everyone leaves happy is when I’m doing adoptions and weddings.”

Monroeville attorney Pat Thomassey said he’s sad to see Conway retiring.

“He was really what a magistrate should be,” Thomassey said. “In all the years I was in front of him, I never saw him get mad or blow up even once. And there were plenty of times when he should have.”

T.J. Klobucar of Penn Township became Delmont police chief around the same time that Conway took his seat behind the bench, and the two have worked together for nearly a quarter-century.

“It’s really been an honor to work with him over my years here,” Klobucar said.

Conway said he’s always prided himself on his attention to detail.

“It’s my job to ask the right questions and sort out an issue,” he said.

Conway recalled one case in which a woman was charged via private complaint with writing bad checks. Through careful questioning, Conway was able to determine that another person with the same name as the defendant had accidentally been charged.

“There was another case during covid where the sheriffs brought a guy to court on credit-card fraud charges, and the guy was saying, ‘I didn’t do this,’ ” Conway said. “This is when everyone was still wearing masks. The whole time I’m thinking, ‘This doesn’t seem like the guy I talked to at the preliminary hearing.’ ”

It turned out to be another case of mistaken identity: the man’s last name was very similar to the real defendant, “and when the sheriff called it out, he misheard it and just got up,” Conway said. “That’s why it’s so important to ask the right questions and look at every case closely.”

Greensburg attorney and Delmont solicitor Dan Hewitt has also worked with Conway.

“His decisions, and efforts to settle disputes, demonstrated his ability to weigh the enforcement needs of the local municipalities with the needs of the residents,” Hewitt said. “He will be missed.”

Conway said his years behind the bench have taught him compassion.

“The general reaction to anyone being charged with a crime is, ‘Lock ‘em up,’ ” he said. “Because people look in the mirror and see a law-abiding citizen. Nobody thinks they’re going to go to jail. But people get jammed up. I’ve seen 7,000 of them over the years.”

Conway certainly isn’t done practicing law. He continues to be employed with Murrysville law firm Creenan & Baczkowski, but he’s also got a few other plans in the works.

“I have a lot more time for tennis, I’ll be crewing on my buddy’s boat in the Caribbean, which I do every February, and I’m looking forward to visiting my kids in the North Hills, Denver, Brooklyn and Chicago,” he said.

When asked about the best part of his 24 years on the bench, Conway said it was the people.

“People come in all shapes and sizes,” he said. “I’ve heard hilarious excuses and attempts to evade charges. Some people will tell you a bizarre set of facts that doesn’t stand up to any cross-examination. Other times, the actual facts are so bizarre, you couldn’t make them up if you were a crime novelist.”