Judge hosts knowledgeable Scouts for visit to Bethel Park office
American judges maintain one of two attire-related traditions with their roots in British courts.
They continue to dress in long black robes, and probably to their collective relief, they don’t have to wear Old Bailey-style wigs.
When Cub Scouts from Pack 228 visited District Judge Ron Arnoni’s Bethel Park office Monday, he asked if they knew the reason for the robe.
“It makes you look cool,” he said was his favorite answer.
Actually, he was impressed with what the scouts already know about civics, and he was glad to provide further information for the youngsters and adults accompanying them about his job.
“In this court, we see a little bit of everything. We see criminal matters. We see civil matters,” he said. “On the average, we see about 4,000 to 5,000 cases a year in this court alone. So we’re one of the busier courts in Allegheny County.”
Overall, the county has 46 community-based magisterial districts. Arnoni’s is 05-2-20, covering Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair, and his office is in the Hiras Professional Building on Lytle Road.
He said his approach to justice tends to be proactive.
“I believe in trying to help people. Now, there are times that we have to impart penalties on people. There are times that I have to put people in jail,” he said. “It’s part of our job, to keep the community safe and to also impart justice. And I try to do that as fairly as possible, giving people the benefit of the doubt.”
Arnoni gave the visitors a tour of his office, including the holding area next to the courtroom, where they youngsters immediately noticed large metal rings attached to the seats and guessed their purpose of being attachments for handcuffs.
They learned about the safety measures the judge took in designing the space, into which he moved four years ago, which since have been bolstered with some precautions against the spread of COVID-19.
A Bethel Park resident, Arnoni was appointed as judge in District 05-2-20 following the death of Robert Wyda in 2013. Arnoni was elected to a six-year term in 2015, and he is unopposed in this year’s general election as both a Democrat and Republican on the ballot.
Regarding why he wears his robe, the judge fielded further comments from the Scouts such as “Important people wear robes” and “Isn’t that just like a uniform?”
“You’re all sort of right, in a way,” Arnoni replied. “It distinguishes us from everyone else, and everyone knows who the judge is. In addition to that, it’s a black robe because we’re fair and impartial, and we’re making sure that we look at things from all sides.”
As a matter of fact, he has a statue of Lady Justice, the blindfolded woman carrying a sword and a set of scales, displayed prominently on his bench.
Whether she’s wearing a wig is in the eye of the beholder.