PRESIDENT JUDGE KIM BERKELEY CLARK wants to create a new mission for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, one that seeks to eliminate systemic racism.
by Rob Taylor Jr.
Courier Staff Writer
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, the first Black person to hold the court’s top position in its history, boldly declared that the court must address the “waning public confidence in the justice system amidst the growing and compelling evidence that persons of color are at a greater risk of death or serious bodily injury at the hands of the police and are more likely to languish in the child welfare and juvenile and criminal justice systems than White persons.”
Her letter was posted to the court’s website on June 23. While not completely unorthodox, a president judge publicly addressing race and, more notably, outlining steps the court is taking to lessen African Americans’ entry into the judicial system via strategic initiatives, doesn’t happen every day.
But for President Judge Clark, who was born and raised in Wilkinsburg, graduated from an HBCU (Tennessee State University) and had been on the front lines of the Pittsburgh area’s judicial system in the family division for 20 years, she felt the need to speak out.
“While judges have a duty to uphold the law and, in many cases, impose sanctions and consequences on those who violate the law, we have an equal duty to promote public confidence in the judiciary as an independent and unbiased institution,” President Judge Clark wrote. “This means that Allegheny County Courts must be at the forefront in addressing these issues. We must undergo an ongoing and critical evaluation of how justice is administered in Allegheny County. It means we must openly acknowledge and address our flaws, rather than rely on the powers and privileges that may allow us to turn a blind eye to them. Please understand that our history is calling us to work collaboratively and inclusively to make positive changes in the justice system that will benefit all citizens.”
The justice system, to the untrained eye, seems fair and equal. President Judge Clark, in her letter, referred to the phrase, “Equal Justice Under Law,” which is engraved above the front entrance of the U.S. Supreme Court Building, in Washington, D.C. The words are from the 14th Amendment of the Constitution which, among other things, granted citizenship to former slaves.
The laws, as written, seem to be the same for all. If that’s the case, then how do African Americans outnumber Whites in federal and state prisons, although Blacks are just 12 percent of the total U.S. population? How do African Americans vastly outnumber Whites in the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ), although Blacks make up just 14 percent of the county?
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that in 2017, there were 475,900 African Americans incarcerated in federal and state prisons, almost 40,000 more than the 436,500 Whites imprisoned. A report from the Pittsburgh-based Abolitionist Law Center in 2020 found that Blacks made up 67 percent of ACJ inmates.
Except for Juneteenth, the Black Music Festival and some events at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything in Pittsburgh that’s 67 percent Black.
Except the jail.
And that’s a big problem, President Judge Clark believes.
“Despite the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, our history has demonstrated that justice has not always been equal for many Americans, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities, women, persons with disabilities, those who do not fit into what society has decided are traditional gender roles, and those living in poverty. What we need to do is ensure that we develop a justice system that not only promotes equality, but ensures equity,” President Judge Clark wrote.
“To truly achieve justice, the proverbial scales of justice must be balanced. We must take into account the uneven playing field on which racial and ethnic minorities, those who do not squarely fit into traditional gender roles, other disadvantaged persons, and the poor enter the justice system. The public must see members of our local judiciary and court staff working with urgency to attain this goal in equal solidarity with them, with other justice-related institutions, and with each other. The Fifth Judicial District (Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas) must rise to this generational challenge.”
President Judge Clark wrote that she is assembling a “diverse group of citizens in Allegheny County and staff of the Fifth Judicial District” to help her create a mission for the court “that truly sets forth our responsibility to all members of the public that we serve.” She wrote that crafting a new mission is imperative to everyone, inside and outside the court, in understanding the court’s responsibility to the public.
In her letter, she outlined some initiatives the court has already been doing to address racial and ethnic disparities, and systematic racism in the justice system:
– Utilization of the PA Detention Risk Assessment, which has significantly reduced the number of juveniles held in pre-trial detention;
– Utilization of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory to help identify the risk factors for recidivism, which has significantly reduced the number of delinquent youth in out-of-home placements;
– Utilization of diversionary programs to prevent entry into the juvenile justice system;
– Establishment of a robust Department of Pretrial Services of Allegheny County;
– Utilization of treatment courts (Mental Health Court, Drug Court, Veteran’s Court, PRIDE Court) to divert individuals from incarceration to treatment;
– Establishment of Housing Court to reduce evictions, and improve judicial access through a Help Desk designed to assist litigants by providing information, forms, and referral resources;
– Implementation of a Language Access Plan to promote equal access for limited or non-English speakers and deaf/hard of hearing court users;
– Fostering collaboration between Magisterial District Judges and community stakeholders to educate the community regarding procedures in landlord-tenant cases;
– The MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge with a focus on meaningfully addressing the racial and ethnic inequities in the justice system;
– The significant reduction of the population in the Allegheny County Jail and the continued efforts to reduce the population;
– Implementation of Anti-Discrimination and Implicit Bias Training consistent with the Fifth Judicial District’s Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy that prohibits all forms of discrimination because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, or religion;
– Prompt investigation and redress of Non-Discrimination and EEO Policy violations to ensure that all individuals, including employees, applicants for employment, litigants, witnesses, jurors, and court volunteers are treated in a dignified, civil, respectful, and non-discriminatory manner;
– Collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, the Allegheny County Executive, and the Allegheny Department of Human Services to address criminal justice reform.
President Judge Clark said that progress has been made in the quest for “equal justice for all.” But, she added, “the struggle is ongoing. We are committed to collecting and examining the data to identify disparities throughout all divisions of the justice system and will continue to examine our processes and procedures that might contribute to racial and ethnic injustice.”
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