Four attorneys hoping to win a spot on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas have been rated “highly recommended” by the Philadelphia Bar Association.

The bar association's Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention released its final ratings slate Wednesday morning. The full list rates 25 candidates seeking posts on the Common Pleas bench and two candidates hoping for a spot on the Municipal Court.

The candidates are vying for six open spots on the Common Pleas bench and one open seat on Municipal Court. The bar association's final list comes less than two weeks before the May 21 primary.

Topping the list of Common Pleas candidates are James C. Crumlish, an attorney at Elliott Greenleaf who formerly served as general counsel of the Philadelphia Parking Authority; Chris Hall, a white-collar and corporate governance lawyer at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr; former assistant U.S. attorney and current white-collar lawyer at Dilworth Paxson, Anthony Kyriakakis; and Tiffany Palmer, a longtime family law attorney with a focus on LGBT rights, who co-founded the firm Jerner & Palmer.

On the other end of the ratings, six hopefuls received “not recommended” ratings.

Those candidates are Terri Booker, Jon Marshall, Janine Momasso, Sherman Toppin, Robert Trimble and Gregory Weyer.

The committee does not indicate its reasoning behind the ratings.

Neither of the two candidates seeking a spot on the Municipal Court received a “highly recommended” rating. Criminal defense attorney David Conroy received a “recommended” rating and solo practitioner Theresa Brunson was rated as “not recommended.”

In its press release announcing the ratings, Philadelphia Bar Chancellor Rochelle M. Fedullo said the ratings are nonpartisan and the investigations are based on a wide range of objective qualifications.

“Judicial elections are often-times 'low information' races where voters are overwhelmed by the slate of candidates with little information to make an informed choice,” Fedullo said. “We are committed to providing voters with a simple and helpful way to make an informed decision regarding the qualifications of the judges in the race.”

The bar association's ratings clash somewhat with the list of candidates that were endorsed by the Democratic City Committee.

That list includes Carmella Jacquinto, Cateria McCabe, Josh Roberts and Henry Sias, who each received “recommended” ratings from the bar association. Kyriakakis was the only “highly recommended” candidate to also get the party's endorsement, and Toppin, who received a “not recommended” rating, was also endorsed by the committee.

Regarding the Municipal Court race, Conroy was the only candidate to be endorsed by the party.

Despite the recommendations and endorsements, ballot position has long been regarded as the most decisive factor in judicial races.

The top six spots on the city's 2019 primary ballot include “recommended” candidates Jennifer Schultz, Roberts, Craig Levin and Nicola Serianni, as well as the “highly recommended” Crumlish and the “not recommended” Marshall.