Jeffrey P. Minehart, 78, formerly of Chestnut Hill, retired judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, former assistant district attorney, longtime private defense lawyer, onetime juvenile probation officer, and criminal law teacher, died Tuesday, Sept. 2, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at KeystoneCare hospice in Wyndmoor.
Reared with five siblings in Germantown, Judge Minehart earned his law degree at Temple University and spent 10 years as an assistant district attorney for the city and 14 years in private practice. He served on the bench from 2003 to his retirement in 2021 and presided over, among other notable cases, the trial of an abortion doctor charged with murder, what became known as the Kensington Strangler case, and the murder trials for those convicted of killing Philadelphia police officers Chuck Cassidy and Moses Walker Jr.
He was appointed to the Common Pleas bench in 2003 by then Gov. Richard Schweiker, elected to a full 10-year term in 2003, and retained by election in 2013. He became the city’s first gun court judge in 2005 and told the Daily News in 2006 that he was “appalled” at the city’s inability to enforce effective gun laws.
“The feeling I got, especially with young people,” he said, “was that it’s a group mentality, where everyone feels they have to carry a gun. You get the feeling they’d be considered a punk if they didn’t.”
He was a good listener and able to analyze both sides of complex cases, said his wife, Ginny. In online tributes, former courtroom colleagues called him “smart, effective, unflappable, and modest,” and “a terrific prosecutor and a wonderful human being.”
He joined the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in 1978 and worked in the juvenile court, felony waiver, and rape units until 1981. He practiced privately with a firm for two years and returned to the DA’s office in 1983 in the major felony and career criminal programs, and the major trial unit.
He managed the city’s criminal attorney unit for four years and supervised a grand jury during the MOVE bombing investigation in 1985. He returned to private practice in 1990, cofounded Powell and Minehart PC, and represented the city firefighters union, the Fraternal Order of Police, and other clients until becoming a judge in 2003.
A natural born actor, Judge Minehart won a drama award in high school and performed on stage with his aunt’s Germantown Theatre Guild. For him, his wife said, the courtroom was the perfect place to demonstrate his considerable people skills and command of the law.
“He was a formidable opponent in court,” his family said in a tribute, “because of his appealing personality and his flair for understated drama.” His wife said: “He loved an audience.”
Judge Minehart also officiated at many marriages, including several for his family and others at the Reading Terminal Market on Valentine’s Day in 2013. He served on the Court of Judicial Discipline, was past president of the John Peter Zenger Law Society, and active with the Brehon Law Society.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Temple in 1969 and his law degree there in 1976. In between, he worked as a juvenile probation officer, bartender, and salesman.
His cases and his name appeared often in The Inquirer and other publications. He also taught criminal law classes at Holy Family University.
“For many lawyers, seeing Jeff was the best part of the day,“ colleague Bryan Lentz said. “He was warm, kind, and always funny. No matter how low you were feeling, Jeff could lift your spirits. He helped countless lawyers through some of their toughest times simply by being himself.”
Jeffrey Purcell Minehart was born Feb. 22, 1947, in Philadelphia. He grew up with three sisters and two brothers, graduated from Germantown Friends School, and showed aptitudes for politics and theater.
He met Ginny McBrien in Surf City after high school, and they married in 1968, and had a daughter, Jennifer, and a son, Jeffrey Jr. They lived in Chestnut Hill for decades and Center City before moving to Glenside about five years ago.
Away from the courthouse, Judge Minehart liked to fish, hunt, and relax on the beach in Cape May and among the pines in the Pocono Mountains. He was witty, told entertaining stories, and enjoyed good food, music, and St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
“Jeff was everything a man should be in this life,” a longtime friend said in a tribute. His wife said: “He was an amazing guy. He was like a magnet. People were drawn to him.”
In addition to his wife and children, Judge Minehart is survived by five grandchildren, three sisters, two brothers, and other relatives.
A celebration of his life was held Sept. 6.