Lehigh County Assistant District Attorney Jared J. Hanna has announced his intention to run for judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Lehigh County.

In announcing his candidacy, Hanna indicated he decided to run because “I believe my love of the Lehigh Valley, my voracious interest in the law and my legal experience have given me a unique understanding of the challenges our community and courts will face over the next 10 years and beyond.”

This opening on the bench became available when Judge Carol McGinley announced she would be taking senior status.

“I hope to bring the same dedication and passion Judge McGinley has demonstrated through her long career as an active judge,” Hanna said.

Hanna is the son of retired Allentown Police Chief and current Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hanna and his wife, Randy. His father had him involved in all aspects of the community in Allentown and surrounding areas from a young age. Hanna graduated from Emmaus High School and went on to attend Moravian College, becoming the 10th member of his family to graduate from Moravian. Hanna then attended law school at the University of Miami in Florida.

During this time, he developed a keen understanding of the rules of evidence and, during his last year, served as a research assistant focusing in the area of the Sixth Amendment, giving a person accused of a crime the right to confront a witness against him or her in a criminal action.

Hanna returned to Lehigh County and, after passing the bar exam, served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Brian Johnson in the Lehigh County Civil Division.

During this time, he was given the opportunity to research and write in family law, orphan’s court and general civil litigation.

Following his time as a clerk, Hanna moved to his current position as an assistant district attorney in Lehigh County. At this job, he has been exposed to all types of criminal cases and appeals. Hanna is currently assigned to the narcotics unit. This has given him firsthand experience at working with and trying to find ways to combat the opioid epidemic currently faced by so many.

Hanna spent much of his youth with his grandfather Richard “Dick” Schmidt during Schmidt’s years coaching girls basketball at Bethlehem Catholic High School and Schmidt’s later return to the sport to coach at Dieruff High School, where the gym is now named after him.

Hanna has been a member of the Syrian Arab American Association, which helps run a food bank on Second Street in Allentown. He also serves on the advisory board for the paralegal studies program at Lehigh Carbon Community College. Finally, he is chairman of the board for the Police Athletic League, which runs athletic leagues and camps for children and provides them an opportunity to interact with their local law enforcement.

Hanna said, “I look forward to a campaign in which I meet as many voters of Lehigh County in person as possible in order to better know their concerns with the judicial system and to make sure the system is more responsive to the needs of every Lehigh County resident.”