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The biggest challenge of getting real justice for LGBTQ+ community members is to have judges who are culturally competent and lack bigotry. Judges need to use proper names and pronouns, of course, but judges also need to understand, and to be willing to understand, the particular problems and needs of members of this community, and […]
The banning and/or criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare, reproductive healthcare, trans youth’s participation in sports, and forms of self-expression, such as drag, are hugely important right now. While these attacks are being primarily advanced through the legislature, any expansion of existing criminal codes as well as any arrests made during demonstrations against such legislation will be […]
When I see data about percentages of people with mental health conditions in the jail, I always shake my head because if you didn’t have a mental health condition on the way in, you will on the way out. Allegheny County Jail is not a safe place for our community and if Magistrates aren’t watching […]
But from that experience comes a perspective that can only benefit those that might come before me as Magistrate: I’ll approach each person as more than their worst day or worst choice or most shameful story. I know first hand that we are all more than any one of those things and we deserve a […]
My work with youth showed me how the experiences of different groups vary even when engaging in similar behaviors. I have seen how young girls are often treated more harshly by paternalistic judges than male counterparts. Similarly, I’ve seen how the experiences of black youth look drastically different than white youth regarding behaviors in schools. […]
There’s been some furor lately in the electoral race for an East End magisterial judge seat. Incumbent Judge Dan Butler is under scrutiny for not performing marriages – he doesn’t perform any marriages. The tricky part is that he belongs to a socially conservative Jewish congregation that defines marriage as between a man and a […]
