/ Lisa Middleman says voters embraced a more diverse bench, with new ideas about criminal justice
A bid to reshape Allegheny County’s approach to justice appeared to make real headway on Tuesday evening.
Nine seats were up for grabs on the County’s Common Pleas Court, and unofficial early results showed a reform-minded set of hopefuls were poised to capture five of them. They were: Allegheny County Controller Chelsea Wagner; attorney and former Magistrate Judge Wrenna Watson; local attorney Nicola Henry-Taylor, defense attorney and former District Attorney candidate Lisa Middleman, and Duquesne University clinical law professor Tiffany Sizemore.
The other four top Democratic vote-getters were Sabrina Korbel, Elliot Howsie, Bruce Beemer, and Jessel Costa.
Voters on Tuesday will have the chance to impact the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court’s future as nine seats are up for election. Thirty-nine candidates are vying for 10-year positions on the bench. Judges earn $189,794. Although there is a large slate of candidates this year, it’s not even close
Allegheny County Courthouse With nearly 40 candidates running for nine open seats on the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County, this election cycle offers a paramount opportunity to remake the county’s criminal justice system. Common Pleas Judges are responsible for overseeing trials for criminal, civil, and family cases and delivering sentencing. They can also be a part of doling out, or withholding, cash bail. Their discretion can reform the court.
Pittsburgh City Paper has chosen to highlight four different categories of endorsements and/or rankings for this year’s judicial candidates: legal, political, reform, and LGBTQ. The legal rankings come from the Allegheny County Bar Association and have four different results: highly recommended, recommended, not recommended at this time (which means candidates could be recommended later, but aren’t currently), and unqualified.
Skipping Democratic endorsement, three Allegheny County judicial candidates join forces instead pghcitypaper.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pghcitypaper.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Courtesy of Nicola Henry-Taylor
It wouldn’t be an election cycle in Allegheny County without some complaining about the local Democratic Party apparatus.
But already the complaints this year are louder than in many previous cycles, with the unhappiness amplified by a wide-open field of judicial contenders – and by long-standing grievances about whether the county’s Democratic committee reflects, and responds to, the voters it will need in the future.
“It’s almost like there might be two different Democratic parties – a leadership that has a more traditional mindset, and a new world that is more inclusive,” said Nicola Henry-Taylor, one of nearly three dozen candidates for Common Pleas Judge.