Bipartisan momentum for clean slate and fair chance licensing policies which remove barriers to economic opportunity for people facing the stigma of a criminal record has grown significantly in the states in recent years.
Letter: HB 38 will be awful for our judiciary
Beaver County Times
There are many reasons to oppose this bill. Here are just a few:
• There is no evidence of public support for this bill. In fact, there is evidence of bipartisan opposition. Two Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee voted against it. Nonpartisan good government groups like the League of Women Voters, Fair Districts PA and the Committee of Seventy oppose it.
• It has had very little review by legislators. There have been no public hearings and no testimony for or against it.
• Supporters of the bill claim the bill will address an issue with “regional diversity” on the courts. But this is a red herring. “Regional diversity” already exists on our appeals courts. Superior Court Judge Kunselman, for example, is from Beaver County. Yet, unlike legislators, judges don’t and shouldn’t represent districts. Their job is to apply the law regardless of where they or a petitioner lives.
90.5 WESA s The Confluence for Tuesday, January 19, 2021
On today s program: Pittsburgh activist and CEO of 1Hood media Jasiri X reflects on the law enforcement response to the U.S. Capitol insurrection compared to Black Lives Matter protests over the summer; State Representative Russ Diamond explains why he believes districts should elect appellate court judges, a practice others say would reduce voter’s participation in the judicial system.
Activist Jasiri X on law enforcement’s response to Capitol insurrection and Black Lives Matter protests
(0:00 - 6:30)
More than 20,000 National Guard troops are in Washington, D.C. to make sure tomorrow’s inauguration is secure. Security officials fear a repeat of the events on January 6, when Right-wing extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol, disrupting the certification of election results.
A narrow majority of the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to advance a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would have judges on three appellate courts elected by geographic districts instead of running statewide.