Judge Timika Lane was elected to the Court of the Common Pleas in 2013 after a distinguished career as a teacher and then a lawyer. She was first assigned to the Major Trials program in the Criminal Division. There Judge Lane supervised human trafficking cases. In addition, she presided over serious felony criminal matters including but not limited to domestic/family violence, sexual assault, attempted murder, arson, robbery, and burglary. She also handled Investigative Grand Jury matters and supervised re-entry programs. Judge Lane is now assigned to the Complex Litigation jury trial program in the Civil Division.
Judge Lane was born and raised in West Philadelphia. The value of hard work and public service were instilled in her at a very young age by her mother, now a retired Philadelphia Police Detective, and her father who served in the Marine Corp. She has passed these values on to her daughter Tori, a student at Howard University where Judge Lane obtained her B.A.
After college, with those ingrained values of hard work and public service, Judge Lane taught social studies to middle school students in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She then pursued a career in law and received a Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers-Camden School of Law in New Jersey in 2002. At Rutgers, Judge Lane volunteered with the Pro Bono Domestic Violence Project, the Bankruptcy Pro Bono Project and co-chaired the Black Law Students Community Outreach program.
Upon graduation from law school, Judge Lane served as a law clerk in the Court of Common Pleas and then practiced family law, ranging from support to custody issues, and represented indigent families involved in dependency matters. She also served as a Certified Child Advocate. She then joined the Defender Association of Philadelphia as a major trial attorney. She represented impoverished adults and juveniles in complex criminal jury and waiver trials for indigent adults and juveniles and served as supervisor. She also participated in the Safe Surrender Program at True Gospel Tabernacle Family Church and Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Judge Lane became the Chief Legal Counsel for a State Senator and the Executive Director for the Pennsylvania State Senate State Government Committee. Her duties included a challenge to Pennsylvania’s Photo ID law, assessing the constitutionality of proposed and existing legislation, drafting legislation, and guidance regarding the legal implications of legislation, regulations, and administrative policies. She also served as a Civil Arbitrator and a member of numerous legal associations.
She serves as Chair of the Board of City Trust Committee of the Philadelphia Board of Judges, Co-Chair of the Local Criminal Rules Committee and a member of the Communication and Community Affairs, Civil Rules, Jury, FYI and Women Judges Initiative committees. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court appointed her to the County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory Committee (CAPPAC) where she serves as Co-Chair. Governor Tom Wolf appointed her as a Commissioner to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. She also serves as a Zone 1 Delegate with the Pennsylvania Bar Association and Chair-Elect for the Clifford Scott Green Chapter of the National Judicial Council. In addition, she served on the Elder Law Task Force.
Judge Lane’s commitment to the community extends well beyond her legal career. She was formerly a Trustee at Bright Hope Baptist Church, Executive Director of the New Life New Member Ministry and Vice-President of the Hospitality Ministry. She worked for Habitat for Humanity during Hurricane Katrina and traveled to New Orleans to rebuild homes destroyed by the hurricane. Multiple Chancellors of the Philadelphia Bar Association appointed her Co-Chair of Advancing Civic Education (ACE,) in which judges and lawyers teach civics to high school students, and she is Co-Chair for The National Trends and Services Facet for The Links, Inc., Delaware Valley Chapter. Additionally, she served as an Adjunct Professor at Harcum College and is an Executive Board member of the Greenhill Farms Residents Association; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter; The National Coalition of 100 Black Women; and The Black Brain Campaign, among others.