Hello All,

Our city, state, and country's future depends on a fair and just legal system. Yet, too often, our family courts are failing the most vulnerable, with a system that can obstruct justice and breach the public’s trust. We must act now to hold the judiciary accountable and ensure our courts truly serve the people. 🏛️

The time for change is now. Here is the plan for comprehensive court reform that we can implement, starting in Allegheny County.

Local Court Reform in Allegheny County

We're proposing two key ordinances to be pursued via local referendums. The goal is to create a more equitable and transparent family court system.

1. The Child and Family Well-being Evaluation Ordinance: 

This would replace the costly and often-unregulated Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) system with a new, publicly-funded team of licensed mental health professionals and social workers. This team would provide free evaluations in all custody cases, ensuring decisions are based on the child's best interests, not a family's ability to pay.

2. The Family Justice Legal Aid Ordinance: 

This initiative would establish a county-funded legal team to provide free representation to low-income parents in family court matters. Justice should never be for sale.

Statewide Judicial Accountability in Pennsylvania

We're also advocating for legislative change at the state level to ensure greater accountability from all judges.

1. Judicial Term Limits and Accountability: 

We're pushing to reduce judicial terms from 10 to 4 years and implement mandatory psychological and drug testing for judges. This would require a state constitutional amendment.

 2. Financial Transparency: 

We propose a new bill to require all judges and judicial staff to publicly report their financial holdings to expose potential conflicts of interest and rebuild public trust.

 3. Governing Body Transparency: 

We want to mandate that judicial bodies, like the Judicial Conduct Board, release more detailed data on complaints and disciplinary actions. This public data is crucial for true accountability.

We must work together to make these changes a reality. Please sign the petition to support these court reform initiatives and share this post with your network. Your signature is a step toward a more just and equitable future for all.

Thank You,
Jaime Chesney

Founder, Allegheny County Family Rights Coalition