2 vying for Washington County Common Pleas Court judge seat

By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com

Two candidates are seeking an open seat on Washington County Common Pleas Court.
Both judicial candidates, Joyce Hatfield-Wise and Jesse Pettit, are cross-filed and will be found on both the Democratic and Republican tickets in the May 18 primary. The vacancy in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas was created by the retirement of President Judge Katherine B. Emery this past December.
Hatfield-Wise is a graduate of Chartiers-Houston High School and has been practicing law for the past 23 years. She currently resides with her husband in Amwell Township.
“I think it’s important to enjoy what you do. I happen to love kids and families and the law lets me serve them,” Hatfield-Wise said. “I think it’s one of the most important areas of the law.”
She currently operates a family law practice, handling protection orders, custody cases and divorce cases. She served as the attorney for Washington County Children and Youth Services for 18 years and has argued before the state Supreme Court.
The freshman judge in common pleas court traditionally is assigned to family court.
“My goals are the same regardless of the assignment. I want to use my 23 years of experience to serve the people,” Hatfield-Wise said.
Hatfield-Wise said she believes in term limits for judges to allow more people to serve in the role and would like to explore sentencing options.
“I’d like to see sentencing that really takes into account what reduces crime and consequences that make sense,” Hatfield-Wise said.
Hatfield-Wise said a former judge in Painesville, Ohio, offered sentences tailored to the crime and reduced recidivism by 75%.
“It’s listening to people. They have really good ideas. Victims, who I like to call survivors, should have a voice and so should the criminals. The law has more capability than we have demonstrated,” Hatfield-Wise said. “It’s the whole family we are affecting. It’s exciting to do those things and make a difference.”
Hatfield-Wise said she would also donate $50,000 a year from her salary as a judge to one or more nonprofit organizations in the county to benefit the community.
“That’s a half a million dollars over the term of a judge,” Hatfield-Wise said.
Pettit is a graduate of Trinity High School and a 2001 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Law School. He has worked for the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office and private practice. For the past 3 1/2 years he has served as the magisterial district judge in Peters Township, where he resides with his wife and four children.
Pettit said he ran for magisterial district judge in 2017 when the previous judge retired.
“I was very familiar with how important that role was. I ran to have an impact on my community, to make it a better place to live, start a family and run a business,” Pettit said.
Pettit said it is also important for a judge to impact the community off the bench as well and he has done speaking engagements in schools,on teen accountability, talked to administrators about truancy and is a volunteer with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.
“I’m on the board of the McMurray Rotary Club. It’s a nonpolitical group of people that shares the same goal of service to the community,” Pettit said. “For the past 3 1/2 years I’ve worked hard to have an impact on my district. I believe I have the ability to have a greater impact on my community through serving on the court of common pleas.”
Pettit said judicial temperament is also important.
“A judge sets the tone in the courtroom. That’s why I emphasize judicial temperament. I’m not only experienced, I’m also a vetted candidate. For 3 1/2 years I’ve been sitting on the bench in Peters Township. We have hearings on criminal cases and domestic issues within a very short period of time of the incident,” Pettit said.
Pettit said family court and domestic incidents can be some of the most emotional cases.
“In custody cases parental rights are very strong in our state, but you have to be firm if you feel it would be in the best interest of the child,” Pettit said.
Pettit said he has also served on the Washington County Security Committee to develop safety protocols in the courts following a shooting in a district court in Fayette County in 2018. Pettit said there is now security at the door of every magisterial district judge’s office in Washington County.