Chesley Lightsey, Judicial Candidate for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, will speak at the Rotary Club of Chestnut Hill breakfast meeting on March 29 at 7:30 am, Center on the Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue, Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. The public is invited to attend the meeting which will include a short question and answer session.
Lightsey will discuss her extensive experience serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia and how those lessons will shape her judicial role. As an assistant district attorney, Lightsey specialized in cases involving crimes against women and children and cases involving children as witnesses of violent crime.
“In the course of my career, I have spent countless hours with mothers, fathers and families who have suffered unfathomable loss,” said Lightsey. “Their sons and daughters have been murdered and abused in unspeakable ways. These families come from every section of this city and all walks of life. I have literally felt their pain and carry their stories with me always.”
During her time in the office, she served as the Chief of the Juvenile Justice Division and the Chief of the Homicide and Non-Fatal Shooting unit. She was also the lead attorney assigned to the re-sentencing of all juvenile lifers in Philadelphia.
Lightsey was educated in the Mississippi public school system and later returned to teach there and in the Memphis system. After moving to Philadelphia to teach at a Quaker school, she enrolled in Temple Law School where she received her J.D.
Lightsey with her wife, two children and German Shepard.
“I’ve known Chesley and her family for several years and she is always very fair and balanced in her views, said Chestnut Hill Rotary President, Andy Sears. “I’m really looking forward to hearing her speak about her experiences in the District Attorney’s office and her thoughts on becoming a judge in the Philadelphia court system.”
She resides in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia with wife and two children and German Shepard. She also serves on the vestry of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church and have been a volunteer coach for Mount Airy Baseball and serve on the board of the Philadelphia LGBTQ+ Bar Association.
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