State College council member Gopal Balachandran enters race for Centre County judge seat
A State College borough council member announced their candidacy for judge of the Centre County Court of Common Pleas Thursday — and hopes to make history by doing so.
Gopal Balachandran said he is running for the Democratic nomination for judge of the Centre County Court of Common Pleas during a press conference at the Graduate State College. If elected, he would be the first Indian-American to become a Common Pleas judge in Pennsylvania, according to his campaign.
Balachandran leads the Criminal Appellate and Post-Conviction Services clinic at Penn State Law and is the co-founder of the Centre County Pardon Project. He was formerly a public defender.
During his announcement speech, he said he’s seen the “sad, endless dance” of the justice system, where one week a client is the defendant in a criminal case and the next week they’re the victim. What defines his professional responsibilities and ethical obligations is compassion, he said.
“Compassion for individuals in poverty. Compassion for those in the hell of addiction. Compassion for the improper circuitry in brains. Compassion for the victims of crime, suffering harm and looking to be seen, heard and made whole,” Balachandran said.
Balachandran said the Court of Common Pleas is one of the most powerful institutions in the county, as it hears custody, municipal agencies and, most importantly, he said, criminal law cases, “where the profound power of the government can take away a private citizen’s liberty, property and privacy,” he said.
“It’s essential that any court has judges with experience and expertise in criminal law, particularly in Centre County where conservatively 50%, if not more, of the cases heard by a judge are criminal in nature,” Balachandran said. “And yet the court, as currently constructed, has no judge with significant criminal law experience or experience in representing everyday people with everyday problems.”
Balachadran lives in the College Heights neighborhood of State College with his wife, Jyoti, and their two kids, Nakula and Nikhil. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, earned an M.A. from the University of Chicago and earned his Juris Doctor at George Washington University.
Attorney Julia Rater announced in December that she is running for Centre County judge. The seat is open with the retirement of President Judge Pamela Ruest.
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 3:47 PM.
