Hanna to seek seat on the bench
He is the 3rd lawyer, and 2nd prosecutor, to enter race for Lehigh County court opening.
A Lehigh County prosecutor with a familiar name became the third lawyer Tuesday to announce a bid for a county judge seat.
Jared Hanna declared his plans to seek the office before a crowd in the Americus Hotel in Allentown.
Hanna, an Assistant Lehigh County District Attorney and son of County Sheriff Joe Hanna, said he’ll bring youthful energy and hometown pride to the post.
“I believe my love of the Lehigh Valley, my veracious interest in the law and my legal experience have given me a unique understanding of the challenges our community and courts will face over the next 10 years and beyond.”
A graduate of Emmaus High School and Moravian College, Hanna earned his law degree at the University of Miami. In law school, he served as a research assistant focusing in the area of the 6th Amendment, which gives a person accused of a crime the right to confront a witness against him or her in a criminal action.
Hanna, 30, of Lower Macungie, began his legal career clerking for Lehigh County Judge Brian Johnson, focusing on family law, orphan’s court and general civil litigation. He joined the District Attorney’s Office in 2014, where he’s assigned to the narcotics unit.
“[I] have spent my entire legal career in the courtroom dealing with evidentiary issues, both civil and criminal,” he said. “I think that rounded experience will do well for me on the bench.”
Hanna his job has given him first-hand experience with the opioid epidemic, which claimed more than 300 lives in Lehigh County alone last year and is a frequent problem faced by criminal defendants.
He said he’s learned that the epidemic impacts people of all ages and backgrounds, and that the line between dealers and users is gray.
“As a prosecutor I tried to learn ways to get these people on the right track and rehabilitate them while protecting the community. This is a function that I would hope to continue as judge,” he said.
“It is not easy, public opinion on these issues are hard, and funding is minimal, especially when there is no clear answer,” he said.
In his free time, Hanna spends time on a different type of court. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Bethlehem Catholic High School girls’ basketball coach Richard “Dick” Schmidt, he volunteers as a coach at Dieruff High School, where a gym is named for his grandfather.
Hanna is chairman of the board for the Police Athletic League and a member of the Syrian Arab American Association. He also serves on the advisory board for the paralegal studies program at Lehigh Carbon Community College.
A Republican, Hanna said he will cross file to appear on both parties’ ballots in the May 2019 primary.
Hanna is vying for the seat left open when Judge Carol K. McGinley retired in 2017. McGinley still serves as a senior judge for Lehigh County.
It could be a crowded race. Two other attorneys have already launched their campaigns, and at least one other attorney is expected to announce a bid this month. Hanna’s coworker, senior deputy district attorney Anna-Kristie Morffi Marks is running, as is Upper Macungie civil attorney Zachary Cohen, a former Lehigh County Bar Association president.
Judges at the county level in Pennsylvania, officially called the Court of Common Pleas, serve 10-year terms. The current salary is $180,299.