Meet Amanda
Amanda Green-Hawkins
Candidate for Court of Common Pleas
I am a union lawyer, and one of only 2,000 or so attorneys in the U.S. recognized by the AFL-CIO as a member of its Union Lawyers Alliance. For nearly 23 years, my legal career has taken me to federal and state administrative agencies, and trial and appellate courts throughout the United States and some of its territories. I’ve also appeared in arbitration hearings, and served as a mediator.
Throughout this vast legal experience, I have witnessed peoples’ declining respect of the legal profession and the judicial system. Our democracy is not on auto-pilot. We must work to protect and preserve it daily. People are skeptical that individual rights can be protected. We have seen women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community face harsh backlash. Our own Interbranch Commission advised that lawyers and litigants say they have experienced both implicit and explicit bias from some judges, based on protected class.
The public doesn’t get to see how decisions are made. Some wonder if overburdened courts are content to lighten the dockets, sometimes at the expense of due process. Others wonder if some voices are minimized because of lack of education, access to money, and a clear understanding of their rights.
We have not seen many attorneys become judges who have extensive experience in public interest law. Public Defenders, legal aid service attorneys, and union attorneys are a rarity on the bench. My experience as a union lawyer has prepared me well. Through my career of fighting for working people, I have experience in many areas of the law. The people deserve to have someone on the bench with extensive knowledge and experience with the issues faced by hard working people like themselves.
I have been elected twice to Allegheny County Council, and during that time I was chair of the Economic Development Committee. I sponsored and led the passage of legislation to prohibit discrimination against people because of their gender identity or expression – making Allegheny County only the third county in the Commonwealth to have such protection. I served as a member of the Democratic National Committee, and the DNC’s prestigious Rules and Bylaws Committee. I have worked with organizations such as New Voices that fight for reproductive justice and reproductive rights. I have worked with organizations such as Jubilee Kitchen and Pittsburgh United, that seek to amplify the voices and help meet the needs of people living in the margins of our communities. I have worked to develop the next generation of lawyers as adjunct faculty at Pitt Law. For the past 20-plus years, I have I worked with the PA Democratic Party Legal Team, including serving on its Lawyers Steering Committee, to protect the vote and fight voter suppression in our communities each election cycle.
Amanda, as a PA election law expert, speaking with former US Attorney General about voter suppression
As a candidate for Common Pleas Court judge, I am well experienced in the law. As a Democratic candidate, I am proud of the work I have done. As a union member, an attorney, and a conscientious citizen, my contribution to the court will be exemplary. You know me, you can count on me, and I will continue to give my best to the people of Allegheny County when elected.
Amanda talking about democracy with David Thornburgh, former PA Gov. Tom Corbett, and the Hon. Robert Cindrich
Education
- AB, Duke University
- JD, Northeastern University School of Law
Has Been Admitted to Practice in these Courts and Jurisdictions:
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of International Trade
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina – Charlotte Division
- U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands – St. Croix Division
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio – Eastern Division
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee – Winchester Division
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee – Western Division
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Law Associations
- AFL-CIO Union Lawyer Alliance
- Allegheny County Bar Association
-
Pittsburgh Black Lawyers Alliance
Has Been Involved with these Organizations:
- Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, Member
- Venture Outdoors, Board member
- New Voices Pittsburgh, Advisory Committee Member
- Women’s Law Project, Trustee
- Pittsburgh Zoo, Board member
- Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Member
- NAACP – Pittsburgh Chapter, Member
- Democratic National Committee, Member and DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, Member and Credentials Committee, Member
- Pittsburgh United, Board member
- Parent Teacher Association, Member
- Women for the Future of Pittsburgh, Board member
- Jubilee Kitchen, Board member
- Keystone Progress, Board member
- Organizing Together 2020, PA State Chair
- PA Democratic Party Lawyers, Steering Committee Member
- Keep Our Republic, PA Advisory Council, Member
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