Q&A with Rachel Rosnick, Candidate for Magisterial District Judge 05-2-31

The banning and/or criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare, reproductive healthcare, trans youth’s participation in sports, and forms of self-expression, such as drag, are hugely important right now. While these attacks are being primarily advanced through the legislature, any expansion of existing criminal codes as well as any arrests made during demonstrations against such legislation will be handled through the courts. Since the magistrate is the first judge a criminal defendant encounters during their court process, it’s important for the magistrate to understand the larger context and take such cases seriously.

The next post in our 2023 primary election season series ‘Political Q&A’ with progressive candidates throughout Pennsylvania. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any level of office. Please note that these are not necessarily endorsements, more of an opportunity for candidates to connect with the LGBTQ community, progressives neighbors, and others with an interest in Western Pennsylvania. If your candidate would like to participate, please contact us pghlesbian at gmail dot com. We welcome candidates at all levels of government across the entire Commonwealth.

By participating, candidates are saying that they

must be an LGBTQIA+ ally, specifically supporting equality and dignity for transgender persons
identify as pro-choice
must affirm that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election and that they accept the certified Pennsylvania’s election results

While I did not know Rachel prior to this Q&A, I must admit that as the first person to ever reference The Mr. Roboto Project as an influence in a political Q&A – I was intrigued. What really resonates with me is how she addresses a host of economic, racial, and age barriers at the magisterial level, she also smoothly interjects how queer and trans people may experience those barriers differently. Each time I read a Q&A with a candidate for magistrate, I learn something. In this specific highly competitive race, I hope residents are reading all of the Q&A’s.

Your Name: Rachel Rosnick

Your Pronouns: she/her

The Office You Seek: Magisterial District Judge 05-2-31

How do you describe your identity? cisgender heterosexual white woman

Tell us about your district. What is a hidden gem most people might not know about?

Magisterial District 05-2-31 is made up of Pittsburgh Wards 8, 10 & 11 which contains all or part of Bloomfield, Garfield, Friendship, Upper Lawrenceville, Morningside, Stanton Heights, Highland Park, and East Liberty.

I have to write about the Mr. Roboto Project here even if it wasn’t always located in my district. The Mr. Roboto Project (“Roboto”) is a cooperatively-run show space and art gallery located on Penn Ave that aims to create a comfortable and open safe space for people to experience a true DIY (do-it-yourself) community.

I don’t think it’s possible for me to overestimate the influence that places like Roboto and the bands that played there had on me as a teenager and throughout my twenties. Going to punk and hardcore shows taught me at a young age about inequality and social injustice as well as the value of being able to think for yourself and speak your heart. It also instilled within me a DIY work ethic and the belief that individuals, their friends, and their communities can create anything that they need and tackle anything that needs to be done without relying on external sources. I undoubtedly owe who I am today to those experiences and am incredibly grateful to have stumbled into and been accepted by that community as a teenager.

My campaign team is primarily made up of friends who grew up in those same scenes learning how to do yet another thing ourselves as we go. When you see something that needs to be changed, you figure out a way to do it. The Roboto Project gave me my first example of how to do that successfully in a way that stays true to yourself.

Just as many of those charged with summary offenses don’t have the financial means to pay a fine, they are also likely to be unable to pay for diversionary classes or program costs. Further, many may not have or live near reliable transportation and many juveniles do not have adults in their lives able to connect or transport them to community service. Alternatives that are inaccessible are not truly alternatives and should not be assigned. Judges should work with everyone involved to develop creative alternatives to fines that are accessible to those participating in them.

How has redistricting impacted your district?

To my knowledge, Magisterial District 05-2-31 has been made up of Pittsburgh’s Wards 8, 10, & 11 for quite some time. (Though the district lines don’t make any sense to me, at all.)

Tell us about the first LGBTQ person you met and what impact they had on your life? Using initials or pseudonyms is fine.

I grew up in the punk subculture of a small town in West Virginia about forty-five minutes outside of Pittsburgh and don’t remember a time when I didn’t have friends or people in my circles who identified as LGBTQIA+. It was also common for people to be in polyamorous or other alternative relationship structures. I don’t remember the first time I encountered people who weren’t cisgender, straight, and in or seeking monogamous relationships, it’s just something that I’ve always been around.

However, growing up in a small town, I was also always aware that not everyone accepted this. I didn’t go to my own prom but, during my junior year of high school, I went to a good friend’s senior prom with him because his parents insisted that he attend but refused to allow him to go with another boy. This was in the early ‘00s and we went in our best Hot Topic “formal” attire. The photo is amazing.

How has your familiarity with the LGBTQ community in your district and the region changed since you began practicing law?

Due to my job I’m more aware of all the services and programs available to LGBTQIA+ young people. I’ve been able to refer clients to organizations like SisTersPgh, Hugh Lane, and Proud Haven for a variety of necessary services and supports. I also joined the board of Dreams of Hope in 2021 after several years of being a theatriQ super fan.

Based on this, what do you understand to be our top LGBTQ concerns and priorities for the judicial system? How will you respond to those priorities?

The banning and/or criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare, reproductive healthcare, trans youth’s participation in sports, and forms of self-expression, such as drag, are hugely important right now. While these attacks are being primarily advanced through the legislature, any expansion of existing criminal codes as well as any arrests made during demonstrations against such legislation will be handled through the courts. Since the magistrate is the first judge a criminal defendant encounters during their court process, it’s important for the magistrate to understand the larger context and take such cases seriously.

Additionally, LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly youth, are over-represented in the criminal legal system and experience unstable housing and employment at higher rates than other young people. Not only do those working in the courts need to respect and not make assumptions about a person’s gender, pronouns, sexuality, or family or relationship structures, they also must be aware of the underlying reasons for their court cases and respond appropriately while treating each person with dignity and respect.

Please give an example of how intersectionality has informed your work.

My clients are all young people aged twenty-five or younger with a history of child welfare system involvement who primarily live in under-resourced communities. My work is informed by all of the systemic and structural hurdles and barriers as well as life circumstances that impact each client and their case beginning with how they’re even going to get to court in the first place.

Many clients don’t have access to a vehicle, have had their driver’s licenses suspended, and/or live in communities without reliable public transportation. Juvenile clients might not have a reliable adult in their life to get them to court. When transportation isn’t a barrier, life circumstances may be. Court hearings are generally scheduled for 8:30am which is when my clients with small children have to drop their kids off at school and my clients with day jobs need to be getting to work. Many of my adult clients don’t have the job flexibility to be late due to court hearings and simply can’t afford to take the day off. My juvenile clients might have to miss school. I proactively deal with these attendance barriers by talking with my client about their plan to get to court as soon as we have a hearing date and time. If no options are available, I do my best to arrange a remote participation option or reschedule the hearing.

These same hurdles, barriers, and life circumstances continue to impact people throughout the court process. For those without the financial means to pay a fine/costs, many of our standard diversionary programs, such as classes or programs, are also cost-prohibitive or otherwise inaccessible due to transportation or time constraints. The courts must develop alternatives to fines that are accessible to those participating in them.

I also think it is incredibly important that individuals appearing in court are treated as more than their life circumstances. I’ve unfortunately witnessed some well-meaning judges make clients incredibly uncomfortable by treating them as objects of pity rather than as whole humans deserving of dignity and respect.

Please give an example of when another lawyer has persuaded you to change or adjust your perspective on an issue.

My significant shifts in perspective have come from conversations with my clients. Two have been particularly impactful.

I was absolutely horrified when a client was cited for disorderly conduct for nothing more than dropping a curse word or two in front of a police officer. There’s case law for miles about how, in the absence of other conduct or explicit sexual content, curse words themselves are not enough to sustain a disorderly conduct charge. Due to my first amendment background, I was all ready to go with legal arguments when my client said something to me along the lines of “Miss Rachel, I don’t CARE about the first amendment. I just want this to be over. I’d rather just do the community service. I have to get to work.” That was eye-opening. It’s the client’s case – and their life – and how the case is handled must always reflect their priorities and needs no matter how important the attorney believes the larger legal principles to be. Sometimes the best outcome is the pragmatic one.

Another significant shift occurred when I represented a teenager who, prior to a hearing, swore up and down that she didn’t give a single crap about the charge and didn’t care if she was found guilty. After I was able to get her citation withdrawn by the officer, that same client who was just loudly proclaiming to everyone who would listen that she did not care at all about any of this broke down in tears in the parking lot and told me that she really needed a win today as she gave me a hug. I’ll never interpret shutdown behavior as a lack of caring again. It’s often just a self-defense mechanism from a person who’s experienced trauma and been harmed by the system before.

Magisterial District Judges are perhaps the ones who have the most contact with constituents, but are often not well understood. Please describe the role of the Magistrate in the judicial system.

A magistrate is meant to be an accessible member of the judiciary that is based in and has ties to the community that they serve. They operate out of community-based offices meant to provide a forum for fair, equal access to judicial services and allow for the quick resolution of public and private disputes without the need for parties to appeal to a higher court that is more removed and less accountable to the community. Magistrates handle summary offenses, landlord/tenant disputes, civil disputes up to $12,000, and preliminary matters in criminal cases. They also issue emergency protection from abuse orders, approve search warrants, and conduct marriage ceremonies.

What impact does being a LGBTQ culturally competent magistrate have on the community?

The magistrate is the first, and often only, judge that a person will interact with during the court process. Not only does the magistrate have the first opportunity to address the underlying causes that brought that person into court, their courtroom is also where the tone for the rest of the court proceedings is set. If the court docket does not accurately reflect a participant’s name or gender, those issues can be corrected there before the case moves along any further. The magistrate can also set the standard during the initial proceedings that a person’s preferred name and pronouns are to be respected and utilized regardless of what is displayed on their legal paperwork. A culturally competent magistrate will also set the example of not assuming a person’s pronouns, gender, sexuality, or family or relationship structure.

Further, a culturally competent magistrate is aware of all the hurdles and/or barriers that LGBTQIA+ individuals may be facing or experiencing that led them to their courtroom and will be able to provide accommodations, resources, or referrals when appropriate.

Most people do not realize that magistrates are not required to be lawyers or even have any legal education – or high school diplomas – in Pennsylvania. You are dealing with intricate matters involving evictions, arrest warrants, protection from abuse orders, truancy, and bail hearings among other issues involving very vulnerable neighbors. These are life altering scenarios that if not properly executed could leave legal loopholes to derail justice. Knowing people and understanding the issues is one thing, but knowing the law seems essential. It isn’t just about making good decisions, it is about making legally sound decisions. How does your experience as a lawyer prepare you for this particular role?

Approximately 75% of all filings at magistrate offices are for summary citations in which the right to an attorney generally does not attach and prosecution is handled by the arresting law enforcement officer, not a district attorney. When the magistrate isn’t a lawyer, there is often no lawyer present at all during the proceedings. This creates a courtroom environment where legal decisions are being handed down without anyone with a law degree’s input or involvement.

Due to this, one major problem that I witness all the time is that the law itself is often an afterthought. Juveniles are often arrested for annoying – but not criminal – behavior and proceedings are regularly permitted to move forward despite the elements of the crime never having been established. The accused’s right to not testify against themselves is almost never acknowledged and ex parte communications between law enforcement officers, school officials, and magistrates are common. The burden of proof is regularly shifted to the defendant to prove that they didn’t do what they’ve been accused of or to explain themselves despite the fact that the law puts the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

My experience as a lawyer, particularly as a lawyer has spent the past few years primarily handling summary citations, will allow me to follow the actual law, make sure that rules of procedure are followed, and ensure that everyone’s rights are protected.

I’ll never interpret shutdown behavior as a lack of caring again. It’s often just a self-defense mechanism from a person who’s experienced trauma and been harmed by the system before.

Your website states you will utilize the variety of alternatives to fines, fees, and other financial penalties for summary offenses that I have already successfully developed & advocated for before various magistrates. Please give some concrete examples of these alternatives.

My judicial philosophy is rooted in harm reduction and the desire to reduce the harms exacerbated or caused by extended exposure to the legal system. The issue closest to my heart in this regard is the levying of fines and fees on those without the means to pay. This creates an endless cycle of missed payments and bench warrants which leads to increased penalties and, in the case of traffic citations, driver’s license suspensions. This continues to snowball making it nearly impossible for the balance to ever be fully paid off further trapping an individual in poverty.

I believe in giving young people chances to earn dismissals through appropriate and accessible diversionary programs. When there is evidence to support a conviction, alternatives include:

community service;
completion of classes (teen accountability, smoking cessation, etc);
writing essays (effects of their actions, plans for the future, etc);
participating in services (therapy, drug/alcohol counseling, etc);
participations in programs (YES program, Cafe Momentum, HSAO, Gwen’s Girls, youth groups, etc); and/or
good behavior for a set amount of time (end of the semester, 90 days, etc).

However, in order to be appropriate, these alternatives must be accessible to those assigned to participate in them. Just as many of those charged with summary offenses don’t have the financial means to pay a fine, they are also likely to be unable to pay for diversionary classes or program costs. Further, many may not have or live near reliable transportation and many juveniles do not have adults in their lives able to connect or transport them to community service. Alternatives that are inaccessible are not truly alternatives and should not be assigned. Judges should work with everyone involved to develop creative alternatives to fines that are accessible to those participating in them.

For negotiated plea deals for lower charges, individuals should proactively be asked about a payment plan and not receive pushback from the judge when they state the amount that they can afford per month. If a defendant does not have the financial resources to make payments, their fines and costs should be waived.

When old fines and fees are outstanding, payment determination hearings should be scheduled rather than assuming bad faith and issuing a warrant, which incurs an additional cost to the defendant and, in the case of traffic citations, driver’s license suspensions.

How do competitive primary elections benefit the residents of a community?

Competitive primaries are beneficial because they give voters a meaningful choice. When Judge Pappas ran for this position in 2017, it was the first time that the incumbent had faced a challenger in twenty-four years. After years of having no choice followed by two choices, this cycle the voters in our district have six choices. This allows for a deeper, more nuanced discussion of the issues and their solutions and allows people to zero in on who truly reflects their priorities.

What are three reasons people should vote for you/support your campaign?

I care. I truly believe that a big part of my success rate as an attorney is how much I truly care about the outcome of each hearing and its effect on my client. While it’s really rewarding to be able to help each individual client, I know that courtrooms are full of individuals that I’d care about just as much if I had the opportunity to know them. I hope to use the knowledge and skill set that I’ve developed advocating for my clients to initiate positive change for everyone in our communities.

I’m qualified. I’ve spent the last several years representing at-risk juveniles and young adults at magistrate hearings on summary offenses. Since approximately 75% of all filings at the magistrate level are for summary offenses, I’m uniquely situated to help make things better for our community due to both my subject matter expertise and practical experience.

I’m genuine. Throughout this election cycle, I’ve faced immense pressure to change how I speak and how I present myself to the world, and I’ve steadfastly refused to campaign as someone I’m not. I’ve never been involved in electoral politics before, I’m not part of any political alliances, and I don’t have personal or familial political or financial connections. I’m simply a legal aid attorney who was moved to run for this position to alleviate the harm that I witness nearly every day.

Tell me about your other endorsements and supporters.

So far I’ve been endorsed by #VoteProChoice and Run for Something. I did not seek a party endorsement.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Thank you so much for this opportunity. Readers with additional questions can email me at rachel@rachel4mdj.com to set up a one-on-one conversation. (For fellow dog lovers, check out honorary campaign director Nuala’s page here.)

Where can readers find your campaign on social media?

You can read more about me, my platform, and all the ways to offer support at http://www.rachel4mdj.com.

You can also follow our campaign’s social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Thank you, Rachel.

Other Q&A’s in this election cycle series. You can read previous cycle Q&A’s here.

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