The Delaware County courthouse in Media, Pennsylvania, is seen on April 11, 2019. In the county in 2017, there were 206 protection-from-abuse cases that ended with a stipulation or agreement between the parties, 187 final orders granted after a hearing before a judge, and 147 final orders denied after a hearing before a judge.
Ed Mahon / PA Post
Ed Mahon / PA Post
The Delaware County courthouse in Media, Pennsylvania, is seen on April 11, 2019. In the county in 2017, there were 206 protection-from-abuse cases that ended with a stipulation or agreement between the parties, 187 final orders granted after a hearing before a judge, and 147 final orders denied after a hearing before a judge.
Ed Mahon / PA Post
The Delaware County courthouse in Media, Pennsylvania, is seen on April 11, 2019. In the county in 2017, there were 206 protection-from-abuse cases that ended with a stipulation or agreement between the parties, 187 final orders granted after a hearing before a judge, and 147 final orders denied after a hearing before a judge. (Ed Mahon / PA Post)
Billionaire George Soros is trying to help elect the Democratic candidate for district attorney in Delaware County, Chris Brennan reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Brennan described the $100,000 in spending by Soros and his team as a “scaled-back version of the same playbook they used two years ago to help Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner win a seven-candidate Democratic primary … .”
Krasner has received national attention as an example of progressive district attorneys who are trying to reduce mass incarceration. Before being elected district attorney, Krasner had never worked as a prosecutor. He spent his career as a public defender and civil rights attorney, as WHYY’s Dave Davies described in this profile.
Philly is the nation’s sixth most populous city, and Krasner is considered by some as the most progessive district attorney in the country. But the debate over changing the way district attorneys do their job is on display in campaigns across the state.
In Allegheny County, independent challenger Lisa Middleman is “a longtime assistant public defender campaigning on a progressive platform,” the Post-Gazette reports. And she’s raised an unusually high amount of money for a challenger, according to the news organization.
Lancaster County is friendly territory for the GOP, so while a Democratic win there seems unlikely, it’s noteworthy to see a Democratic candidate running on a platform of opposing the death penalty in all cases and wanting to end cash bail in many cases.
In Northampton County, the Republican candidate told The Morning Call that cash bail should not be used in non-violent misdemeanor cases if the person has no history of failing to appear for court proceedings. The Democrat didn’t draw such a clear line for when cash bail should not be used, but both candidates emphasized the importance of cash bail for violent cases.
One thing worth noting about Delaware County: Democrats had historic wins there two years ago, fueled in part by backlash to President Donald Trump. And control of county council is up for grabs there this year.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
A man wearing a Stronger Than Hate Yamulke stands outside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, the first anniversary of the shooting at the synagogue, that killed 11 worshippers. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Gov. Tom Wolf attended a memorial service Sunday to honor the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting on the one year anniversary of the attack. The memorial service was one of several events to commemorate the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in United States history.
The New York Times reports that Michael Milken, who embodied Wall Street greed back in the 1980s and was sent to prison for violating federal securities and tax law, stands to profit from a tax break aimed at helping poor communities. The story goes deep into a decision by the Treasury Department to reverse course and allow an area in Nevada to receive the “opportunity zone” designation — which could benefit Milken. (You might recall Spotlight PA and PA Post took deep looks at opportunity zones in Pennsylvania earlier this month.)
Following a Spotlight PA and Caucus investigation, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said he supports the “goal of strengthening the current law to improve transparency for campaign disclosure in PA.” Scarnati had the most obscured spending, the investigation found.
Sunday’s LNP has a story by two of the reporters who worked on the Spotlight PA / The Caucus series. Reporters Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesh dig deep into the options for reforming Pa.’s campaign finance system. Over on the editorial page, the newspaper issues a call to action for reform and stresses the importance of hiring enough staff at the Department of State to enforce existing and any new campaign laws.
