Assistant D.A. Schultz to run for judge seat
Butler County's Assistant District Attorney Terri Schultz announced Monday she will run for judge in the county's Court of Common Pleas, becoming the fifth person vying for the black robe.
Candidates are running for a seat vacated by Judge Marilyn J. Horan, who left after 22 years after being confirmed in September as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
“I have more qualifications than most,” Schultz said, noting she decided to run after local attorney Thomas Breth pulled out of the race last week.
“I welcome a debate where we could discuss the issues,” she said.
Schultz said she supported Breth's candidacy and decided to run after he bowed out. She added she would not run a smear campaign. In his announcement dropping from the race, Breth cited negative campaign tactics as his reason for leaving the race.
Schultz graduated from Duquesne with a law degree in 1990, and went into private practice for four years. In 1994, she started working as a county public defender, and began her current position with the District Attorney's Office in 2016. Schultz said that having worked both sides of a criminal case gives her an advantage.
“A judgeship, what you should look for is someone who's well rounded,” she said. “You need to see both sides.”
Aside from her criminal work, Schultz is also part of the Behavioral Health Court, a specialty court providing alternatives to jail for people who suffer from varying diagnoses of mental illness. Schultz and other court officers offer treatment and tools for rehabilitation and readjustment instead of imprisonment for offenders.
Schultz said her interest in helping people with mental illnesses started when was a public defender. She often dealt with clients needing mental health help, and continued that work when she joined the county board of Stepping Up, a national organization devoted to reducing the number of mentally ill people being put in jail. The organization works with counties to create local units aimed at reforming jails.
With a crowded race, and only a few months before elections in May, Schultz said she's ready to fundraise and campaign while also prosecuting her criminal cases as assistant district attorney.
“I'm not deluding myself, it's going to be an uphill battle,” Schultz said. “But I always face a challenge head on.”
