U.S. District Judge Mia Perez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

12/05/2024

U.S. District Judge Mia Perez

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

c/o James A Byrne U.S. Courthouse

601 Market Street, Room 6614

Philadelphia, PA  19106

Dear U.S. District Judge Perez,

My name is Matt Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan and I have a strong interest in learning history, social justice, and criminal justice reform. In these subjects, I like to learn the need for civil rights to be stronger to reduce discrimination, expand on social justice to improve communities, have criminal justice reform to help protect people’s rights while reduce crime, and many others. U.S. District Judge Perez, the main reason why I’m writing you a letter is to explain how I find your work when you served as Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania and as current U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to be very inspiring to me. 

When you served as Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania from 2016-2022,   I truly appreciated on how you are a strong supporter of civil rights by advocating for people with disabilities’ rights, pushed for strict sentencing for people who commit hate crimes to help protect minorities including people who are different, and expressed the need for civil rights to be stronger to reduce discrimination. Supporting drug treatment programs to help drug users get the care they need to reduce drug abuse, expanding the court resources to help victims of crime including victims of domestic violence get help on dealing with their trauma, and expressing while supporting the need for funds to improve forensic science including DNA testing to help solve evidence including cases efficiently while reduce sending an innocent person to jail is common sense for criminal justice reform. Also on criminal justice reform, I like on how you address the need for better mental health services to help people who struggle with mental illness to get help instead of strict sentencing and support the idea of social workers to be on call with law enforcement to reduce tensions.  In your current role as U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, I like on how you are a continuous strong supporter of civil rights including people with disabilities’ rights and criminal justice reform.  Another thing that I like about your work in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is how you are a strong supporter of protecting civil liberties from being violated like the 4th amendment to help protect people from unreasonable searches, advocate for the need to reduce racial profiling in the criminal justice system to help protect minorities including immigrants from being oppressed, and strongly advocate with support the need for better voter protection laws to help protect voters including minorities along with people with disabilities from losing their right to vote.

U.S. District Judge Perez, I have autism with a learning disability.  Having a disability is hard for me because i have trouble comprehending on learning different advanced subjects, sometimes i struggle to communicate my thoughts in different settings (social and environmental settings), and get teased. Your commitment to be a strong supporter of civil rights including people with disabilities’ rights really inspires me to work hard on my disability. On youtube I enjoy listening to you talk about criminal justice reform and civil liberties. Your role as former Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania and as current U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania helps give me motivation to continue to learn history, social justice, and criminal justice reform. My future goal is to someday work in these areas to help emphasize the need for civil rights to be stronger to reduce discrimination, expand on social justice to improve communities, have criminal justice reform to help protect people’s rights while reduce crime. Also I enjoyed visiting Philadelphia a few times where I got to go to The Underground Railroad Museum where I learned history of the Underground Railroad including the history of African Americans who were slaves, see the Liberty Bell including Independence Hall to learn about the history of Liberty Bell including how the founding fathers worked on the declaration of independence along with the U.S. Constitution,  and The National Constitution Center where I learned the history of U.S. Constitution including the importance of protecting civil liberties. 

I strongly believe that you are making a great difference in the judicial system. I’m very proud on how you are working hard to support civil rights including people with disabilities’ rights, expand while advocate for criminal justice reform, and protect civil liberties. You truly inspire me to work hard on my disability, learn more about your work, and continue to learn different subjects. Here is a picture of me visiting The Liberty Bell with Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman on my Philadelphia trip as a gift to you for inspiring to me. If I visit Philadelphia I would like to meet you because you truly inspire me to work hard on my disability and I enjoy learning about your work. Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, working hard to make a great difference, and inspiring me. Please continue to make a great difference for society.

Sincerely,

Matt Winick