#LISA MIDDLEMAN HOW TO#

They promoted a slate of eight candidates for the countyвЂ™s Court of Common Pleas, which handles criminal matters the candidates vowed to use their discretion to shorten prison sentences and reduce pretrial detention.ДЇive of the candidates on this progressive slate prevailed in the Democratic primary in May, and all five won the general election on Tuesday and are headed for the bench.ДЄmong these incoming judges is Lisa Middleman, a former public defender who ran for district attorney in 2019.

This year, in PennsylvaniaвЂ™s Allegheny County (home to Pittsburgh), progressive groups made a concerted effort to change that.

#LISA MIDDLEMAN HOW TO#

Last year, Seattle reallocated millions from the police budget, asking residents to decide how to spend it to create вЂњtrue public health and safety.вЂќ Local Courts Become the Next Frontier in Criminal Justice ReformД¬ourt systems across the country are labyrinthine and opaque, with little attention typically paid toward the powerful local judges who wield great sway in deciding who sits in jail, who to evict and how harsh to make bail. cities have begun implementing similar processes. Last month, in this Republican-run state, two GOP lawmakers filed a bill to legalize marijuana. They were not in a position to outright legalize marijuana since that would take statewide action, but the victories could speed up such reform. A string of Ohio towns decriminalized it within their borders and drastically lowered possible penalties. Marijuana was on the ballot too this week. Victorious prosecutor candidates in Manhattan, Philadelphia and Norfolk, Virginia, ran on getting criminal courts out of drug laws to a greater extent than they have in the past, or at least deescalating these lawsвЂ™ enforcement.

That follows last yearвЂ™s ballot initiatives to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of any drugs in Oregon and the possession of psychedelics in Washington, D.C.Дistrict attorneys are also finding political success in embracing this stance. In Detroit on Tuesday, voters passed an initiative that decriminalizes the possession of psychedelics by a large margin, 61 to 39 percent. The Biden administration is stalling changes to how the federal government approaches drugs, even marijuana, but voters are on a different plane.

Lisa middleman