STEVE ZAWISKY
FOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY JUDGE
EXPERIENCE MATTERS

STEVE ZAWISKY FOR JUDGE
Experience You Can Trust. Commitment You Can Count On.
Steve Zawisky brings over two decades of legal experience as a prosecutor specializing in violent crimes and homicides. Steve has dedicated his career to protecting our community by relentlessly pursuing justice, taking murderers, drug dealers, and violent criminals off the streets. As judge, he will bring that same unwavering commitment to upholding the law and ensuring the safety and integrity of our community. He is committed to fairness, accountability, and justice for the people of Cumberland County.
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ABOUT STEVE
A Life Dedicated to Justice
From his humble beginnings in Northeast Pennsylvania to becoming a leading prosecutor in Central Pennsylvania, Steve Zawisky has dedicated his life to pursuing justice. Raised in a blue-collar family, Steve learned the values of hard work, resilience, and standing up for those who cannot defend themselves. His legal journey has been defined by thousands of cases litigated and countless victims supported with compassion and care.
EXPERIENCE
A Proven Track Record in the Courtroom
Steve’s career as a prosecutor spans over 20 years, with a specialization in homicide investigations and prosecutions. He has directly handled or advised on nearly 100 homicide cases and litigated thousands of cases covering the entire spectrum of criminal law. His extensive experience ensures he understands the complexities that judges face every day.
VISION FOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Justice with Integrity and Fairness
Steve Zawisky is committed to ensuring the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas provides due process and fairness for all. With his extensive legal experience, he understands the importance of efficiency, impartiality, and compassion in the courtroom. As judge, he will focus on:
• Upholding constitutional rights.
• Preventing avoidable and costly retrials.
• Serving the community with a commitment to justice.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Serving Both Inside and Outside the Courtroom
Steve’s dedication to Central Pennsylvania extends beyond his legal career. As a former instructor at the Harrisburg Area Community College Municipal Police Academy, he has trained hundreds of local police officers. He also educates prosecutors across the Commonwealth teaching various topics for the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association.
When he is not the courtroom, Steve is a judge on the diamond, umpiring college and professional baseball.
PERSONAL AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Steve Zawisky has called Central Pennsylvania home since 2002, living in Harrisburg, Derry Township, and now Silver Spring Township. He resides with his wife, Jenise Harris, his stepdaughter, Adelyn, a student at Cumberland Valley High School, and their two beloved dogs, Luna and Fletcher. Steve is deeply committed to serving Cumberland County and bringing his extensive legal expertise and dedication to justice to the bench.
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Steve is a graduate of the Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he earned Dean’s List honors and excelled in trial advocacy, contracts and criminal law.


HIGHLIGHTED CASES
King’s then 16-year-old daughter called 911 from outside her mother’s bedroom and told dispatchers McCullough was in her room. It was that 911 call, combined with her testimony, that did “80% of the work” in securing McCullough’s conviction, according to prosecutor Steve Zawisky.
“I did not win this case. [the daughter] did,” Zawisky said. “The courage and strength she displayed is unparalleled. She will overcome anything.”
Prosecutor Stephen Zawisky went straight to the video Monday as Jerry Reeves, for the second time in a decade, went on trial for the 2006 robbery/slaying of a Harrisburg Area Community College student at a city convenience store.
That video, shot on now antiquated VHS tape, was in black and white and at times distorted. But it was shockingly graphic nonetheless in depicting the brutal killing of 23-year-old clerk Hitender Thakur.
[The victim], a native of India, was working the night shift at City Gas and Diesel at 15th and State streets when he was gunned down around 1 a.m. on May 25, 2006.
An Adams County man charged in the shotgun slaying of another man after an argument over wooden logs was convicted of third-degree murder Friday after a one-week trial. Wyatt Rickrode, 27, of Biglerville, is expected to be sentenced on April 22, for killing a man on May 23, 2020 outside his home in Biglerville.
Rickrode, who had no prior violent criminal record, faces up to 40 years in state prison, according to Dauphin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Zawisky, who was deputized to assist with the trial.
“The defendant made a decision to get a gun which was completely unnecessary,” Zawisky said. “The victim and his family simply wanted to get their property and leave. This crime was avoidable… They didn’t do things exactly like he wanted so he went a retrieved a shotgun to establish his control.”
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Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before delivering their verdict, which Zawisky said was a “just” outcome.
“If the defendant just stayed in the home, this murder would not have happened,” Zawisky said. “[They] only had to load two more logs onto a trailer and leave. That may have taken 5 to 10 more minutes. Instead, the defendant grabbed a shotgun, loaded it and shot the victim at point blank range.”