Troy, Thomasine, and Ducky Birts are joined by District Attorney Larry Krasner and Judge Sierra Street as they talk about their campaigns for re-election and the continued changes needed to be made in Philadelphia.
Larry Krasner was born in 1961 in St. Louis, the son of a World War II veteran father and minister mother. After attending public schools in St. Louis and the Philadelphia area, Larry earned degrees from the University of Chicago and Stanford Law School with the help of student loans and scholarships.
While at Stanford, rather than focusing on corporate law, Larry worked for indigenous rights, homeless people, and the poor, in criminal matters. After graduating in 1987, he received several job offers from prosecutors’ offices around the country, but instead chose to return to Philadelphia to work as a public defender.
In 1993, Larry started his own law practice in Center City specializing in criminal defense and civil rights. Since then, he has tried thousands of cases in criminal and civil court and represented countless defendants and filed more than 75 civil rights lawsuits against the police for corruption and physical abuse.
Larry stands up for immigration, disability and gay rights, as well as the right to free speech. He has defended, normally at no cost, protesters at RNC 2000 and DNC 2016, members of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, Casino-Free Philadelphia, DACA Dreamers, Decarcerate PA, Earth Quaker Action Team, Heeding God’s Call, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Occupy Philly and Reclaim Philadelphia, advocates of public school funding and opponents of the death penalty.
During his first term as District Attorney, Larry has supported victims, he has exonerated the innocent, and he has held police accountable. He has reduced future years of incarceration and supervision while helping to drop the jail population. He has focused on the most serious crimes in Philadelphia while working with leaders to address the root causes of violence. He has kept kids out of adult court and kept them home. And he has fought against the powerful, like drug companies and those who steal from workers.
Larry lives in Philadelphia with his wife of 33 years.
Sierra Street was raised by a single mother (a nurse and an Army veteran) in a working-class family. Judge Street understands the demands of the everyday person and how rules, education, and proper guidance are tools for a successful life. She graduated from Howard University with Honors, majoring in Political Science and English. Judge Street is also a graduate of Temple University School of Law where she served as President of the Black Law Students Association and participated in a summer abroad law program at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Judge Street also interned at the United States Department of State while in college and at The White House while in law school.
Following law school, Judge Street worked for several years as a law clerk in the First Judicial District and then a Hearing Officer in Philadelphia Family Court while simultaneously representing members of a local union in various matters as prepaid legal services. In her next position, Judge Street worked as a Trial Attorney at the Defender Association of Philadelphia for several years where she represented indigent juveniles and adults in hundreds, if not thousands, of hearings and trials daily. After leaving the Defenders’ Association, Judge Street became Chief Counsel at Friends Rehabilitation Program Inc., a non-profit organization which provides affordable housing and social services to low- and moderate-income families and to families who had been homeless. At FRP, she prepared development applications, supervised development projects, handled zoning issues, and represented the agency in all legal matters, primarily civil matters.
In 2013, Judge Street was elected to the Court of Common Pleas in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. She is assigned to the Civil Trial Division, Complex Litigation Center where she handles various matters including statutory appeals involving government entities. She was previously assigned to the Major Trials Program in the Criminal Division where she conducted both bench and jury trials in serious felony matters including but not limited to Attempted Murder, Rape, Robbery, and Family Violence. Judge Street served as Lead Supervising Judge in the Philadelphia Indicting Grand Jury Program. She is also a co-founder of the Jobs, Training, Employment and Education (JTEE) Re-Entry Program. In 2018, Judge Street was selected to participate in the Safe Surrender Program held at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. She also co-planned the 2019 FJD Educational Retreat for the Court of Common Pleas.
Judge Street is the Immediate Past Chair of the National Bar Association Clifford Scott Green Chapter of Judicial Council. Before being elected as Chair by her peers, she served on the Executive Committee and formed the Judicial Council College Mentoring Program in local area high schools. From 2015-2020, Judge Street served as Chair of the Board of Judges Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee which develops and executes annual community service projects for the entire First Judicial District, staff and judges alike. She has also served as a member of the Board of Judges Local Criminal Rules Committee and the Communication and Community Affairs Committee. In 2019, Judge Street was nominated and selected to become a member of the prestigious Temple American Inn of Court, where she developed the idea for her group’s educational program around the issues of law, racial disparities in education and the history of desegregation in schools.
A member of the Historic Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia for over 15 years, Judge Street served as Vice-President of the Hospitality Committee and as a volunteer with the Surviving to Thriving Program. Currently, she is an officer on the Board of Trustees and a member of the Finance Committee. Judge Street is also on the Board of the Stephen Smith Towers Apartment for the Elderly Inc. located in West Philadelphia.
Judge Street has two children, one adult and one currently in high school, and one grandchild.
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