A Pennsylvania man who had been imprisoned three times turned the page to become the state’s youngest judge at the age of 27.
Hanif Johnson, a 2012 Penn State University student, once walked into a courtroom in shackles and handcuffs for a hearing on charges of simple assault, conspiracy and harassment.
Twelve years later, Johnson found himself sitting on the bench as the youngest judge ever elected in the state of Pennsylvania.
In 2017, he defeated Republican candidate Claude Phillips with 73 percent of the vote to win the election for the Dauphin Magisterial District.
Reflecting on her troubled teenage years, she wrote on social media: “The possibility of losing my freedom and also all the work I did to stay out of trouble… That’s a big reason why I have an open mind and a different perspective.”
Hanif Johnson, who had been imprisoned three times, turned the page and became the state’s youngest judge at the age of 27.
Hanif Johnson, a 2012 Penn State University student, once walked into a courtroom in shackles and handcuffs for a hearing on charges of simple assault, conspiracy and harassment.
At Harrisburg High School, he decided to try out for the track team, a decision that changed his life forever.
Born and raised in Harrisburg, Johnson had a difficult childhood before discovering his passion for athletics.
“My mother was an addict, my father was an addict, my grandmother was an addict, my aunt was an addict, my uncle was an addict, my grandfather was an addict, my entire immediate family was an addict.”
“We had 8 people sleeping in a 2-bedroom at a time when my mom had the biggest heart and took in other families’ kids all the time,” he wrote.
At Harrisburg High School, he decided to try out for the track team, a decision that changed his life forever.
‘One day I decided that this is not the way I want to live my life, so I started running track. Track really saved my life,” he told Huffpost in a 2018 interview.
He won the PIAA State Triple Jump Champion in 2007 before becoming Captain of the Track and Field Team at Penn State University.
When he was tried for hazing as a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, he already had two cases on file.
‘The police don’t tell us anything at all why they are arresting us. “They take us downtown and make us sit there for 13 hours,” he said of his first offense.
The second arrest occurred when he was observing the deliberation of a case that interested him, he said.
After graduating, Johnson worked as a family resource specialist in his hometown helping at-risk youth, but interactions with authorities prompted him to pursue a career in law.
Last year, Johnson was re-elected as magistrate district judge with 96 percent of the vote.
‘During a break the police grabbed me, I pushed him and I didn’t know he was an officer. I was arrested and charged with intimidating a witness during a murder trial.
‘I went to the casino the night before, so I have $500 in my pocket that I rescued. My old gym teacher was a bail bondsman. I got a call from the state university and they said the DA said he would turn me in…’
In 2012, Johnson, the president of his Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and two other students were tried on hazing allegations.
‘No one on the jury looks like me. I had to pay 12 thousand for a simple assault case. “I went to court in shackles and handcuffs…it was crazy that they came back with a NOT GUILTY VERDICT,” she said.
‘I couldn’t even work for Uber after they found me innocent. My criminal record was used against me.
‘I was in jail for two weeks and then I went to trial. Thank God I won,” Johnson recalled. ‘That was one of the happiest days; “I just felt like they were going to take my life.”
After graduating, Johnson worked as a family resource specialist in his hometown helping at-risk youth, but interactions with authorities prompted him to pursue a career in law.
A magistrate district judge is a position elected by residents and does not require a law degree, so Johnson took a bold step by embarking on the campaign.
“Because I live in that area, they know me, I know the people, I know what’s going on,” said the father of two.
‘There are single mothers who can’t pay a parking fine; I have the control to make her life easier, instead of someone from out of town who doesn’t understand that the $100 fine might be too much for her and ends up in jail for that fine.’
While he was at the campaign trial, people slammed the door in his face while laughing at him, he said.
“But after the fourth or fifth conversation, I would ask them who they voted for and they would tell me,” he said.
Last year, Johnson was re-elected magisterial district judge with 96 percent of the vote.