Summary

In this episode of the Zekely Podcast, host Zeke interviews Lauren Hughes, a lawyer and councilwoman running for the Court of Common Pleas in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. They discuss her journey into law, the importance of civic engagement, and the role of judges in the community. Lauren shares her experiences as a public defender, her current role as a senior solicitor, and her views on the influence of political ideologies in the judicial system. The conversation also touches on personal anecdotes, community service, and the significance of voting.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Lauren Hughes

01:30 Understanding the Court of Common Pleas

04:43 Am I Lying?

09:10 Family Activism

12:41 CareerLink

16:26 Delta Sigma Theta

19:05 Pledging

21:19 Preparing To Be Judge

24:33 Hobbies

25:46 Senior Solicitor

26:57 Solicit or Cease

30:09 Interpreting The Law

32:39 Why You Should Care About Judicial Races

35:58 Hope and Overcoming Adversity

38:08 Future Plans

Lauren Hughes: https://www.laurenhughespa.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenhughes4judge/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Lauren-Hughes-for-Judge/61556304455617/ 

CareerLink: https://www.pacareerlink.pa.gov/jponline/

Full Video Episode Available On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheZekelyPodcast

Short Clips Can Be Found On TikTok: @drzeketayler/@thezekelypodcast and Instagram: @thezekelypodcast

Hello, I'm Zeke and welcome to the Zekely podcast. Let's talk, Pennsylvania

The guest I have today is a lawyer and councilwoman running for Court of Common Pleas Judge in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She has dedicated her life to the service of others, which is exactly why she's the democratically endorsed candidate. Thank you so much for being here, Lauren Hughes.

For years, I’ve knocked thousands of doors all over Pennsylvania and poured my heart and soul into supporting candidates and causes that make a difference—from local school board races to national elections. The personal is political, and I take every election in Pennsylvania personally.

Where the mainstream media has failed you, I will give you truth and independence. You’ll hear from Democratic leaders, candidates, and change-makers who are working to improve the health of the Commonwealth, and it won’t be boring as hell.

No matter where you are, I’ll meet you with hope and a plan to make your community better one day at a time. Welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let’s talk Pennsylvania.

Thank you, Dr. Zeke. Thank you for having me.

Absolutely. So this is your first time on a podcast.

Yes,

it is. listen to podcasts regularly, but I've never been on one. So this should be exciting.

I'm so happy that you're here. We're gonna talk all about your campaign and about you, play some games. So let's get right into it, okay?

Wow, love games.

What types of cases does a common pleas judge here and why are you running for this position?

Okay. The court of common pleas in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the trial court. So we call that the trial court because they hear all of the major criminal and civil cases in the court of common pleas specifically in Montgomery County, but in most counties, but I can just speak to Montgomery County. There's five different divisions on the court of common pleas And that's civil, family, criminal, orphans court and juvenile. So we run the gamut. We hear everything from felony misdemeanor cases to divorce custody cases.

Mm-hmm.

Sure.

guardianship issues, adoptions, to civil, your standard med mal cases, as you would know, Dr. Zeke. I mean, you wouldn't know Dr. Zeke, because Dr. Zeke is great. He's never having to deal with that. But we are that trial level court. And a lot of people, that's a great question, because a lot of people get really confused as I'm out campaigning about the difference between the Court of Common Pleas and also the Magisterial District Court, which we have right here in Montgomery County. And that is like the first court.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

that someone would enter. You hear the traffic cases, preliminary hearings if you're charged with a criminal offense and things like that. And any disputes under $12,000 go through the Magisterial District Court, which is a different court. But I get that question often because a lot of people are like, will you be able to take care of my traffic tickets? I'm like, no, nobody's doing that anyway, but no, it's totally different court. So thank you for that question. Out the court of common pleas And why I'm doing it. Well, that's a loaded question because

huh. Yeah.

I started my career, I wanted to be a trial lawyer. It started from when I was a child when my mom said, first, you need to be a lawyer because I seemed to talk back a lot. So she thought that that would be the perfect career path for me. And I knew I wanted to get into criminal defense work. I knew I was a public servant. I've seen people in my community going through the criminal justice system and I didn't quite understand what was going on in that realm. So I knew when I went to law school that I wanted to be a public defender. And that was my first job out of law school.

gosh.

And when I started as a public defender, I really saw the need, just for fairness and integrity and, and, and, quite honestly, people seeing people that look like them and can understand some of the issues that they have seen. And I was like, how, can I do to help in that realm? So I always thought that down the line that I would be, that I would like to run for judge, but I did not think that opportunity will present itself as soon as it did. It was always like, when I turn 55, 60, that's when I'm going to

55 or

60, oh my gosh.

55, I had a plan. I always have a plan. 55

or 60, that's when I'll run. as God sees it, I am just turned 40 years old and I am running and an opportunity presented itself. And I know I did the work. I've served in the public defender's office and currently I'm in the solicitor's office. And I've seen, again, all in public service, just in need in the intersections of courts and social services.

⁓

And I feel like I needed, I would be doing the community, the world of disservice if I didn't take my talents to where I see fit. And I feel like with my integrity, with my honesty, with my empathy, my compassion, I just, I feel like this is the role for me and I can do a lot of good work.

I'm really happy you didn't wait another decade to throw your hat in the ring.

Nice.

There you go, I'm very excited for you

Thank you. Thank you.

and I have a good feeling about this run for you, do.

Well, we're going to play game. It's one of my favorite games to play with judicial candidates and it's called, Am I Lying? Okay, because you have to be like a real life human lie detector. And so I'm going to tell you a couple of things and you're going to tell me, I lying or not? Okay. So true or false? I have never had a cavity.

Yes.

That is true. I have never had a cavity. I've never, I know, I don't know. It's, yeah, I've actually, I know, I'm telling you, I've never had a cavity. Brush in the morning at night, never had a cavity. But I have had a root canal, and this is a funny story, okay? So, well, it's actually not that funny. So I was roughhousing with my brother.

All the secrets, Dr. Zeke. I mean, it's too late now.

No.

I was giving him a bear hug and he threw his head back and hit me in the tooth, one of my front teeth, and it killed the tooth. And so I had to get a root canal in one of my front two teeth, but I've actually never had a cavity. That doesn't count as a cavity, by the way, okay? It wasn't, I know. So I have had dental work done, but due to trauma inflicted by my younger brother, still love you, Zach. No, no hard feelings, it was actually my fault.

It does not. Wow.

Let me put this candy away that I have.

I know, but

yeah, I've never had a cavity, so that is actually true. Second one, I asked my wife to marry me at a baseball game.

I met your wife, she's pretty cool.

Yeah,

she is cool.

That is true, yes. My wife, the lovely Jessica, is a die-hard Atlanta Braves fan, die-hard. Okay, if you ever went to her room where she grew up, it looks like an homage to the Atlanta Braves. Okay, you've got a Braves bunk bed, Braves wallpaper, cutouts of all of the World Series players still tacked up, you know, turning yellow on the newspaper. And so...

should say, yes.

Wow.

She told me when we first started dating, she said, have two options. You can either ask me to marry you at a Braves game or getting married at a Braves game. So I flew her down to Atlanta and I asked her at the bottom of the second inning and she said yes. So yeah, and luckily the Braves won that game and her favorite player at the time hit a home run. So yeah, I did ask my wife to marry me at a Braves baseball game. I know, so there you go. She got what she wanted. Here's another one.

That's such a great story.

True or false, I have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.

flase

That's false. I've never. I've hiked on parts of it, but never the entire thing. I think it'd be fun. I do like hiking. Yeah, I do like. I like the outdoors. I go camping with my kids occasionally. That's the thing I do with my kids. Jess does not like camping. No camping. mean, so it's tent camping. Okay, it is tent camping. Like I cook over the fire and...

So you like hiking.

camping, camping or glamping.

You know, we go canoeing and swimming and everything. But yeah, I mean, we do have some modern stuff. Like I bring a grill sometimes if it's raining outside. But we do tent camp. We do the tent, yeah. On the ground. Well, I have a cot, but the kids sleep on cots or the ground, whatever they want to do. So yeah, but I have not hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail. Maybe someday. Who knows? ⁓ she does not camp. No, she prefers a hotel room over camping, which is fine. We all have our things.

like on the ground.

And your wife does not do this with you. Okay, yeah.

I say I'll

join you. Yeah, me and your wife can, me and Jessica can go hang out and shop and, know, spa while you guys are in the wilderness.

You can, yeah, yeah, All right,

here's another one. I have never gotten a speeding ticket, true or false?

True.

So I've gotten speeding tickets before yeah And I have I've definitely gotten my fair share of speeding tickets I've never had any points deducted, but I have gotten speeding tickets in the past. Yeah So there's that. Okay. Here's the last my gosh God a decade maybe more it's been a long time. So I've got a speeding ticket You know once once you get kids you slow down a little bit, you know, you just slow down It's just a natural thing. I all right. Here's the last one

You don't have any cavities.

This is last time you got a speeding ticket. It's been a long...

Yeah, no. Yeah.

I am an Eagle Scout. True or false? That is true. I kind of gave it away with the camping and everything, but yeah, I am an Eagle Scout. Yeah, that was... Yeah, yeah, I was actually, Life Scout is the rank right before Eagle Scout, and I got stuck at Life Scout probably for about two years before I just finally committed to finishing to be Eagle Scout.

True.

My stepfather is, know, the ranks. He's very, yeah.

But yeah, a lot of people park it at life and they're finished. But there's a cutoff. Like once you turn 18, you're done. You can never earn Eagle Scout again. So that's why it's got that prestige there. You you gotta get it while you're young. Well, thanks for playing Am I Lying? Very good job.

Yeah. Yeah.

That was fun.

Well, you were raised by your mother in Norristown, Pennsylvania, who was a political activist. So how did seeing her activism influence your career decisions later in life?

Yes.

Yes.

Wow, that's another great question, Dr. Z. I love these questions. Well, when I was 13, the first time my mom ran for political office and my mom was a physical therapist by trade, making great money. And she said she wanted to run to be a state rep. And I'm like, okay, like, what was that about? And even at that young age, knew like, I knew the difference between money. can, I can count dollar signs. I'm like, why do you like you have this job? Why do you want to, you know, be a

Yeah.

but she's always been active in our community. Like we live right across, when my father passed away when I was 11 years old. And when he passed away, we moved in with our great aunt and uncle right here in Norristown. And right across the street from my house that I grew up in was a community center. And my mom became the executive director of that community center. So that's really where her involvement started. And then from there, just building relationships and networking, someone tapped her on the shoulder and thought she would be a great candidate to run for state representative. And this was back when Montgomery County

wasn't the blue wall it is today, it was red. So on that journey with her, unwillingly, because I definitely didn't want anything to do with politics. I thought it was mean, I saw people saying negative things about my mom. I was like, that's my mother. And I knew all the good work that she was doing. But as I was going across this county, I just saw the needs

Mm-hmm. Right.

Just my interest in public service has come from the needs. Like I grew up here, right here in Norristown. And as I go around this county, I see the differences in all these townships and municipalities, whether it's funding, businesses, business development, economic development, all of that, you just see the differences. And as you start to think about why these differences are, it always leads back to something that has to do with politics. And it's like, it's something that I didn't think I would be involved in, but.

Yeah.

If you care about your community, you realize how important politics are. And that's what I try to stress to people that are like, I don't want to be involved in politics. I'm like, me neither. I really don't want to be involved in politics. But if you care about people and the things and the only way to make change a lot of times has to go the political route. Right. And it's again, it's hard to explain to people because when they see all this negativity, I try to keep my TV turned

Yeah.

Yeah.

When you turn on that TV, you just see so much negativity and it kind of discourages you from wanting to be active or do anything about it. But you have to stay involved. You have to be aware. And you honestly have to vote. I mean, let's just start there. You have to vote.

Yeah, yeah, you have to you have to get engaged

and honestly if someone tapped your mother to run for office As much as I know now about being involved in pennsylvania politics That means that she was really engaged civically. That means that she was a leader in the community That means that she was someone you could trust and and I feel like There are a lot of people that you can trust who are in politics There are a lot of people who wake up every day who you know go to harrisburg or

Yes. Yes.

Thank you. Yes.

even locally, who are keeping things moving forward and taking care of their constituents.

And we have to make sure that the leaders in the community

Yes.

the people that we all care and trust are running for these positions. Because if we don't, if we step back and don't pay attention, then the bad actors are going to get in charge and we see how that turns out.

Yes.

Yes.

You had

a very good role model to get you where you are today.

Yes. She's

also my campaign momager.

She manages my campaign. So that's a very interesting dynamic too, but she's excellent. Yes.

That is great. Mother knows best.

you worked at Pennsylvania CareerLink full time while going to night school to become a lawyer. And CareerLink is a state program designed to connect job seekers with employment opportunities and employers of qualified candidates. So what was your role at CareerLink?

Yes.

My role at CareerLink was the basic career assessment and resume writing. So that was my first job. So when I first got out of undergrad, I wanted to go to law school right out of undergrad. But I was determined I needed to go to the University of Pennsylvania. I didn't care. That was the only school I was going to apply for. And I did that. And I did not get in. And I was devastated. And it was like, can't go. There's no other schools. I just have to go to University of

Uh-huh.

so once I didn't get in, I was

heartbroken and I'm like, I'll just have to get a job. but because I had my heart set on going to law school, I didn't put much thought into what I was going to do after undergrad. So I had a friend, a family friend that managed a career link and got me into that role. And I'm great with people. And while I was in that role, I got to meet a lot of people and just telling them my story, they helped to encourage me like, you need to try again. Like you would be excellent.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

You need to try this again. So when I did finally three years later, I applied to law school and I got into a number of law schools, but Widner was the first one that I got the acceptance letter from and they had a night program and I really liked my job. It was easy enough that I knew that I could do it. You study sometimes at work and also go to law school at night.

Yeah.

It was a great experience. supported me through that the entire time. often, now that I'm working back at the county and I have economic development and workforce development as one of my departments that I'm over in, CareerLink falls under that. I get to go visit some of the same people that I worked with there.

That's great.

That's so cool. They probably say hey, we know you you're a big attorney now That's awesome That's great. So is it how many years was Liz lost? Is it three or four years? The night school the night school Mm-hmm got it and then that's crazy. Well, that's I mean

They remember me back when. ⁓

It's well, the high school is four years, but I did it in three and a half because I went every summer. Yeah. I wanted to, I wanted to be done that drive

to Delaware. Now that I have to, coached a mock trial team a couple of years later after I graduated, well, a couple of years ago before the pandemic and driving back and forth, I would go down there three nights. I'm like, how did I do this four nights a week in the evening class starting at six, ending at 10 30 four nights.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

I respect

the grind. I really do. I honestly feel like, I wish you didn't have to go through that type of, you know, experience necessarily to go have to go to night school and work at the same time. But the fact that you did and you were grinding it out, that to me is incredible. And I'm sure you appreciate everything that you've accomplished, you know, since then. So I'm really happy to that.

Thank you, yeah. And I always said that

when I would go to school, I had a classmate who was a physician that went back to law. I never could understand why she did that. She went back to law school and she had twins and she was driving from Baltimore. And she did night school just like me. She would work and then come to law school at night and family medicine. And I was like, I have no complaints. I don't have any children. don't have a husband.

What?

Wow.

That's a terrible story. This is an absolutely terrible story.

I don't have a career like a physician and I don't have that drive. So I'm like, I have no excuse. And she was at the top of her game. Like I would be trying to study with her. So.

God.

Do you still keep in touch with her? what is she doing now?

No, we're

friends on social media, but she works, she does something in a corporation. Yeah, she's, yeah.

I sure as hell hope so, my god.

like, I don't know, never thought of, Dr. Zeke you never thought about going to law school? You didn't?

goodness.

I actually, I have

actually thought about going back to law school and my wife said So I am not going to be joining you on the bar anytime soon. Okay. I'm gonna let you have that space.

Okay. Okay.

belong to the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

was super honored, super honored.

went to Florida A &M University, which is a historically black college in Tallahassee, Florida. And while on that campus, and a lot of times in historically black colleges, being in a sort of sorority or fraternity is like a rite of passage, right? But it's often more difficult because everybody wants to be a member. So I remember when I applied to be in this organization, I was number, we have a thing called Rush, I'm sure all sororities

Yeah, yeah.

We had to do it at the convention center because that's how many people. And when I signed in, we had to sign in, was number 600, 600 and something. That's how many young women were there to be a part of this organization. And out of the 800 that ended up applying, only 55 of us were picked for my line per se. So completely honored. And one thing I do when I explain to people like, you're member of sorority, like you're not in college anymore.

Mm.

my gosh.

wow, okay, yeah.

Hmm.

a lot of the historically Black sororities and fraternities, they go well beyond college, right? They have graduate chapters, people are able to join as graduates. And we can just continue that public service, that work in the community, right?

Yeah.

So it's just a wonderful privilege, that sisterhood, you know, going from state to state, knowing that there's always going to be another Delta somewhere in that state or in that community that's going to accept you, welcome you with open arms and ready to put you to work, essentially, because there's a lot of work to do. So it's a wonderful organization to be a

Mm-hmm.

Mm.

I'm wondering, do they have a dance, like are there specific dances for your sorority? Because I noticed that when I went to one of the Kamala Harris rallies at Temple, I saw certain women dancing a certain way and I assumed it was part of some type of sorority. Do you think that was probably it?

Yes, yes, you have it in.

Yeah, yes.

Yes.

Yes, Kamala Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. That was the first organization sorority, African-American sorority. And I'm a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. So they're pink and green. You probably saw them in their pink and green and were crimson and cream, red and white. Yes. Right. I mean.

Okay.

Okay. ⁓ Okay. Well, I love the dances. I'm a big fan. I love watching them. I have to learn how to do them one of these days. If you're allowed, if you're allowed. I don't want to, I don't want to

get...

They might give you the side eye, you could give it a try. You could give it a try.

Okay, Cringy moments for my kids, it's fine.

Well, let's play another game called Pledging, Yay or Nay. Okay, now I know that your sorority wasn't the type to embarrass you to get in, it was prestigious. Regrettably, I did pledge to a fraternity in college and I did some ridiculous stuff. So I'm gonna ask you if you'll participate in these activities to pledge to a sorority, okay? So would you eat a large raw red onion?

Okay.

No, no.

to get into a sorority.

Yes, I love red onions actually.

Okay fine, a lot,

you would eat a lot, just, just... No, like the whole thing, you have to eat the entire onion. Yeah, you do it? Okay fine, I did it, so there you go. Alright, would you melt a bag of ice using only your body heat? An entire bag of ice. No? Okay fine, I did that too. Yeah, I did that too, yeah.

Just take a bite if I.

like I had to to get in. Yeah, I'll do that.

It'll take too long now. You did that too? It sounds

like a good time.

I was such an idiot. I just can't. I'm only telling you a fraction of what I did. Alright, so here's the last one. Would you dye your entire body violet from the neck down? You wouldn't do that? I did that. I did. It was at the end of Hell Night. It was the last night of pledging.

No, you did that. You did that? No, you did.

and I went to the University of the Sciences, which no longer exists actually because ⁓ St. Joseph's University bought it. But the last night of pledging, because it was a science college, they had this purple dye that they used in science class. Well, they filled up this trash can full of warm water.

What's the name? Like this has so many different names.

and they filled it up with this purple dye and then we had to get it up to our neck and we were dyed purple from the neck down. And I gotta say, so the purple dye did wash off after a couple months, it got under my fingernails, okay? And that took a year to grow out, a year. had purple fingernails, like underneath the nail beds was purple. Yeah, for a year. And my toenails were purple. they had no idea. didn't, they had no.

Couple months?

What did your parents say?

Yeah, but they do it in such a time where like it's it's early enough in the semester that by the time you go home You won't even notice

So yeah. So yeah. I was very committed to the process, but I did it, Lauren. I did it. Those days are long gone. Yeah. Well, it wasn't the smartest thing I ever did, but I grew out of it clearly.

That's.

I know I would have a fit.

Tell me about your current job as a lawyer and how it has prepared you to be a judge.

now, currently, so from being a public defender and then getting tapped. while I was in the public defender's office, it wasn't a burnout that I felt. It was an emotional burnout. I really took my cases and my clients to heart. And it got to a point where I was just seeing some of the inequalities in the criminal justice system. And it really, really.

I just couldn't stomach them anymore. And I know I needed a break. So when I was looking for an opportunity, our now governor, then commissioner, Josh Shapiro, who I knew just from my mom being in that political space, I knew there was an opening in the solicitor's office, but you needed to have seven to 10 years of experience. At this point, I was practicing for three years. So I applied and I begged for an opportunity to interview. And I said, I knew I could do this job.

and they were looking for someone to handle all their health and human services departments. And that's where I am now. And even in that role, again, just seeing I'm still really involved in the justice system through this, from whether I'm doing mental health commitments to guardianship issues, I still see the intersection with social services and the justice system. And I feel like, again, that just prepared me on a different level. Let me see another side outside of criminal court. You see the civil side of things.

And just the need, the same need, especially when I'm dealing with the vulnerable mentally ill and their involuntary mental health commitments and that process that's so antiquated. That's a story for another day that I often get on our state legislators about. But you just, again, just see the need for that same fairness, that same integrity, that same compassion. And again, that's just helped me with my decision even further of why I know this is for me, where I know I can make an impact.

It seems like a recurring theme is that you need to see people to be an effective judge. You need to see them, see what they're going through, see their background, see what difficulties they are having, the barriers that they have to interact with their communities and meet them where they are. And judge fairly and effectively because your judgments will affect the rest of their lives, you know? And I think most people don't ever want to see themselves in front of a judge.

Yes.

Exactly.

unless they actually have to. And if you do need to see someone, you wanna make sure that they're gonna see you as the person that you are and your entire life story leading up to that. So I can understand how your experience as a lawyer would help prepare you for your role as a judge.

Yes.

Yes. And I feel like people always tried to pull me away to go into private practice and I commend those that can do those long hours and make that and make that big money. But I've always my heart has always just been in public service.

I Montgomery County's bench.

Judges are excellent judges, but I always think there can be a different perspective, especially if you didn't come from a certain demographic or if you didn't come from a certain area. You don't see some of the issues and you hear about them when you're on the bench for the first time and they're foreign to you. So you're quick to judge, right? Like we all have preconceived notions in our head, even though we're fair and impart. I hear all those terms, but the reality is everybody has grown up a certain way and can't ignore how.

Yeah.

your values and life experience have shaped who you are and some of your thought processes. So, you you have to see different things to understand.

Well, I'm sure you're going to bring all the things you've seen to the bench, for sure.

Do you have any hobbies?

Yes, I love to travel. I love to travel. I love to shop. That's a perfect combination. That's a perfect combination.

Do you like to travel and shop at the same time? Yeah? Okay, good. So

if you could choose a place to go travel to and shop, where would that be?

One of my favorite places to travel and shop is Morocco. Have you ever been to Morocco? Morocco is, beautiful. But it's a huge shopping Mecca. it's, I mean, you can get anything from spices to rugs to scarves to it's just,

I have not.

Okay.

When I went, I need to go back with an empty suitcase next time. I bought back so much stuff. Like I have stuff in my kitchen to this day. I had to bring home this pot called a Tangene that I still have never used, but I had to bring it home in my suitcase. This is how they cook their cuisine. But I love, love, love Morocco. I think that's just, if you're ever looking for a nice relaxing vacation, Morocco. It's beautiful.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Uh-huh.

Oh, Morocco. All right.

Alright, well when the

kids give me some time off, I'll call you, you can give me a nice itinerary and I'll jettison off with my wife, okay? Morocco and shopping and an empty suitcase.

Yes, I will. I will. I will.

Yes, definitely empty suitcase. You're going to have rugs. You're going to have everything that, yeah,

Well, you were talking about earlier, you serve as a senior solicitor in the Montgomery County Solicitor's Office. So what does this job entail specifically?

So in this role, I am the sole legal advisor for all the county's health and human services departments. So that's about seven departments that I'm responsible for. So I do everything from advising, contract negotiations, contract reviews, approve all the contracts our commissioners sign to keep this county running. I do a lot in the mental health space with the mental health department. I do all of the involuntary mental health commitments for the

And I can say this county has been doing phenomenal things to keep no services being interrupted, we're continually serving the people. So, love the work that I do.

Yeah, mean, it's,

mean, healthcare is, and health services are some of the most important things in any community. And so if any of those things start to lag, then quality of life is gonna go down. So I can only imagine some of the cases that you see to make sure that those types of, Services don't grind to a halt, you know? So I appreciate that as a physician, I wanna make sure that in my community, people have access to,

Yes.

Exactly.

Yes, yes, for sure.

Yes.

Health and Human

Well, let's play a game called Solicit or Cease and Desist. Okay. I'm going to give you some scenarios. You're going to say, you can solicit me with that or no cease and desist. Okay.

So someone is going on a second date just to meet their dog again Is that a that a solicitable thing or cease and desist? I'm not cool with that That'd be kind of weird. That'd be kind of weird, right? Like I love your dog so much. I just wanted you to take me out again

Sees and disses. Little weird, little weird.

I do have a best friend that loves animals just that much that she would probably do that. I have my best friend of 30 years, yes. She'll be like, yep, that's me.

⁓ no!

That is hilarious. mean,

I don't like you, that dog.

suffer through the meal just to pet the dog. Alright, here's another one. You're running for office just to get revenge on your ex who said you peaked in law school.

Yes, she would.

What was my first, was Cease and Desist or what?

or solicit.

Hmm, maybe solicit.

I

know, right? Grudge. A grudge with civic consequences. I know. It's nice to... Actually, when I was applying to medical school, I didn't have the best medical school entrance exam scores. They're called the MCATs. I did pretty well GPA-wise, but my MCAT scores just weren't that great. And there were a couple of people around me who were like, he's never going to med school. He's not going to be a doctor. And it really hurt, you know? And so eventually I did get into medical school and now I'm...

Yes.

happy to say I'm a doctor, yeah, I mean, come on. Internally, feels good to.

And not just

a doctor. Okay. Can you tell, I'm sure you've done this on more than one of your podcasts, but for me, can you tell me and the people what kind of doctor, because I think the fact that you do what you do during the day and still take time for us at night is phenomenal. So.

Uh-huh.

So I'm an anesthesiologist, but

also with a critical care fellowship. So I take care of critically ill patients in the ICU. Yeah. I know it's crazy.

Wow. How do you do it

all in a husband and a father how?

I don't, I think I have a very high resting cortisol level to be honest. I don't know, I mean, I don't drink coffee. think I would drink it if it tasted good, to be honest, because I love eating and drinking sweet, lovely things. But I've just always been a get up and go guy, you know, there's just something in me. And so, and this podcast really is my contribution to Pennsylvania to promote positive democratic values and get democratically endorsed candidates elected. So to me, it is somewhat just as important as my day job.

Thank

We thank you.

We thank you. We thank

you. Thank you for all the service.

You're quite welcome. Absolutely.

All here's the last one. Doing a TikTok trend to explain your judicial philosophy, but in a robe and slippers.

a robe and slippers.

Oh

yeah, sure. You can put on your sneakers if you want to, put on your robe at home and do a little TikTok. What do you think? you, solicit? Yeah.

Solicit.

I think you have to meet people where they are. And if you make a TikTok, when you become a judge, I will duet you. Okay. I will totally duet your videos and make stitches. I'll be all, I love, I love TikTok so much.

you

Yeah.

Yeah, me

too. That's my guilty pleasure. Every night I go, don't even turn on the TV. Like TikTok, I get all my news, my card events, my shopping, ⁓ my recipes, everything's on TikTok.

Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Well, you

better reserve your name, Judge Hughes. You better reserve that on TikTok right now. Tonight, perfect. I can't wait to see it.

Good idea, good idea, tonight.

Some people say that interpreting the law shouldn't be a partisan issue, okay, but history has shown us time and time again that political ideologies influence decisions in the judicial system. So you are being endorsed by the Democratic Party. How does being a Democrat influence your interpretations of the law?

good question. I believe that interpreting the law shouldn't be a partisan issue. It should be firmly rooted in the law and applying it fairly. However, like I said before, that we can't ignore people's backgrounds and values and life experiences. You can't ignore those perspectives and those can influence how people approach or how judges approach justice. I think it's just not even reasonable.

to think that someone's sitting on the bench and don't already have these preconceived notions about someone they see in front of them. And as a Democrat, as a lifelong Democrat, I've always just believed in fairness, right? In fairness and equal treatment under the law and everybody should be treated fairly and everybody is entitled to services or the same respect and dignity and things like that. I mean, my party affiliation,

Right.

It reflects my commitment to that justice and to justice and compassion and all those things. But truly, I just believe everybody deserves to be heard and treated with dignity. And I always say that, you know, one of the things about me and when I was going around campaigning, I always left with one quote. It was like the end of all my little stump speech. I always left with by Maya Angelou that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Yeah.

And I always said that I vow that anybody that comes before me will feel respected and heard and will receive closure. And I feel like if people feel respected and heard, no matter if you rule in their favor, right? They can walk out feeling that closure and feel like they were heard. Might not have got the result that they wanted, but they felt that they were respected. So, you know, I think that's what my democratic values, just the very baseline is just fairness for all. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, and it's the value system. I

100 % agree with you. If you've been endorsed by the Democratic Party, that means that you embody the platform, the values that you will bring to the bench. And that to me is extremely important. And I'm going to be able to vote for you because you live, I live in Montgomery County and I certainly want, I may never interact with you, but I want everyone who does interact with you to be seen by someone who holds my democratic values. So it is very important to me.

Yes, thank you.

So why should people care about judicial races in Pennsylvania?

because we are the backstop of justice. Listen, you have to care. mean, the judges, who says it best? was Justice Doggart.

was running for a Supreme Court, well, retention on the Supreme Court. He always says when he speaks, he talks about with the stroke of a pen, judge can take your freedom, they can take your house, they can take your

Yeah, ⁓ yeah, justice.

You know, and you think about that when he says it is so impactful, like I see I've I've sat next to him and I watch people as he said this and they're looking like, wow, you don't even think about it that way. But not only that, we can protect your rights. We protect the Constitution. it like it is it is so like I just can't. I can't stress stress it enough. And like it kind of stresses me out when I have to.

Yeah.

Yeah.

you know, go to different places when I'm meeting people where they are. I go into the local barbershops, just trying to get in people engaged to one register to vote. Why voting is important, especially why judges are important, because the only time they want to talk about is if it's a family member that went in front of a judge and they're like, that judge is not fair. And I'm like, did you vote for that person? Did you, did you retain that judge if you had an issue? You know, so again, it's just, judges are the backside. We're like your second line of defense.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Right? Yeah. Yeah.

against this crazy world that we

live in. And that's why judges are important.

super important, Justice Dougherty, he's one of the three state Supreme Court justices we must retain this November 4th because, you know, Elon Musk already tried in Wisconsin and failed and he's going to be bringing his millions to Pennsylvania to try and get those state Supreme Court justices not retained and that would be a huge problem for Pennsylvanians.

Yes.

Mass.

Yes.

Huge.

As

you said, our rights are on the line. And while the state Supreme Court is super important, I also believe that your role on the common pleas court is just as important. All levels of the court system matter. And so I too understand your sentiment that you are the backstop and I want you there having my back.

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. It's just, again, just getting out and it's people like you with this podcast. I, you know, once this airs, I'm going to just make sure people listen, you know, because they, they, just have to know why this stuff is important. I mean, and, just your story and who you are. And I think you make this fun and inviting and exciting, you know, some podcasts about politics people don't want to hear about, but to keep it and keep it fun. ⁓ Maybe can help. have to start somewhere.

have to.

I know.

Mm-hmm.

We have to start somewhere. have to meet people. There's still so much work to do. Like as I'm knocking doors, I'm knocking on people's doors. They're like, there's an election this year. I'm like, there's an election every year. Like it just me out. They're like, wait, we just had one. like, and there's another one and there'll be another one next year and another one the year after that. Like it's every year. These are your rights people.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, every year.

Mm-hmm. know. Every year. know.

I just want to empower people. We have so much power. Your vote is the most powerful thing in a democracy. It's the most powerful thing. If it didn't matter, then the Republican Party wouldn't be trying to suppress it all the time. And so it does matter. And so I'll keep it fun. I'll keep it light. But I want people to feel empowered and to know that you can make a difference one vote at a time.

All right.

What gives you hope?

just my life and.

gives me hope that it is possible for others. And when I speak to other people, like I look at my journey, just from losing my father at a young age, not getting into law school, not passing the bar on the first try.

becoming a lawyer and after being a lawyer for 10 years, being able to one of my all time goals to be able to run for judge and to be an endorsed candidate where other people saw that, saw that light in me, saw the experience in me, saw that I could do this. That gives me hope that people are watching and that you can literally not, I don't want to say come from nothing, but you can literally come from, you know, failure and really just overcome.

Mm-hmm.

and still be anything you want to be. And you've always heard you can be anything you want to be, but that gives me hope that people are actually, they see me and that I can then share my story with someone else and then they can know that it's possible. Like you don't, you you think that you have to be the valedictorian of your class or the head of the law report. Like you don't have to do all of those things. You just have to have the heart, the will, the passion and the drive to do it. So.

Mm-hmm.

That it gives me hope because even during this process, I didn't know how it was going to turn out. Like I knew again, I had that 55, 60 because I didn't think you could do it at in your thirties. I didn't think anyone would take you seriously because we haven't seen it done, but I did it and it's possible. And I hope that I encourage other people. So that's the runabout way of saying it gives me hope that people are paying attention, that they're seeing things differently now.

Yeah.

Mm hmm.

Yeah.

You know,

So yeah, so that's what, so roundabout way, does that answer the question?

It does.

mean, know, hope is a verb. know, hope is a verb and you have to get up every day and do something to accomplish that hope. And, you've had great accomplishments and setbacks and some little failures, but at the of the day, you kept moving forward and you had a great support system and you had great people in your community that lifted you up, I'm sure, when things got hard. And that's also part of hope. You need to surround yourself with hopeful people. And so that totally makes sense. Yeah.

Well, what plans do you have to get yourself through these next few years?

I'm gonna spend a lot of time just volunteering, doing things that I'm passionate about still.

in the community. I'm looking forward to these next couple of years. I oftentimes now when I'm in court, have judges that talk to me they kind of give me their little things. And one particular judge was like, you know, you need to get yourself a book. And he calls his book. What does he call it? The turn, turn off the lights. I don't know. He says every day before he goes home, he writes in his book, whether there's a lawyer that comes in, that's a complete. He'll write that in the hill, write that in his book like this.

Yeah.

complete jerk or this person did this, he'll write that in his book and he closes his book and he turns off his lights and he's like, he leaves it there. And he was like, and I have, he's been on the bench 20 plus years. He's like, I have so many of these books. He's like, have to get yourself a release that you don't walk out of here holding on to, to all of this stuff. So these are all the things I'm like, all these nuggets. I'm like, okay. Cause I tend to carry things. I'm like, I can't carry all of this with me. Yes.

And that's it.

huh. ⁓ gosh.

Yeah. Yeah.

I gotta say, we need to get a hold of that book, okay? Because

that would make an amazing docu-series or, I could make a lot of TikTok videos out of that. There'd be some good juicy stuff in there. All right, good, yeah, please do. Keep my number. Keep my number. Well, Lauren Hughes, running for the Court of Common Pleas in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, the democratically endorsed candidate who I will be proud to vote for.

Ruh.

a couple years I'll share my book with you. I think I'm gonna have one of those books too.

Thank you, Dr. Z.

Very excited for your campaign. How can we support your campaign?

Please, please, please visit my website. It's www.laurenhughespa.com. Please, please just visit my website any way that you can lend your talents to me. We always need volunteers. If you have some free time and you want to volunteer, myself, Mary Pugh Ray McGarry, we're the three Democrat endorsed candidates and we all need your help. We're running as a team. There's three spots, there's three candidates.

We can all be elected and we all need your help. So if you visit my website, you can enter your information. We would love to have you volunteer with us and just get to know us. So thank you, Dr. Zeke. I just, this was fun. was so nervous, but you made this such so enjoyable. I loved all the games. I have to do this again just to play the games. ⁓

Absolutely, I'm really, well I'm sure that this will not be our last interaction.

I'm super happy for you and I know you're gonna get across the finish line. Absolutely.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Well thank you so much for joining me here on the Zekely Podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved and until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania together.

you.