Summary

In this episode of the Zekely podcast, host Zeke interviews Judge Brandon Neuman, who is running for the Pennsylvania Superior Court. They discuss Judge Neuman's background, his experience as a trial judge, and the importance of judicial races. Judge Neuman shares insights into the role of judges in society, the significance of integrity in the judiciary, and his personal life, including his hobbies and family. The conversation emphasizes the need for competent and empathetic judges in Pennsylvania.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Judge Brandon Neuman

01:32 Name That Judge

03:37 Common Pleas

04:46 Supporting Veterans

06:58 Washington County

09:13 Superior Court

11:35 Am I Lying?

15:00 Political Journey: From State Rep to Judge

16:13 Robe Me

17:52 The Influence of Political Ideology on Law

20:30 Hobbies and Personal Life

21:33 The Importance of Judicial Races

24:10 Family Life and Pets

26:05 Toughest Part

30:31 Judges in Pop Culture

31:33 Attacks On The Judiciary

34:03 Family Life and Balancing Responsibilities

35:57 What Gives You Hope?

36:50 Future Plans

Judge Brandon Neuman for Superior Court: https://www.judgeneuman.com/

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. Welcome to the Zekely podcast. Let's talk Pennsylvania. The guest I have today was a lawyer, served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and is now a judge in Western Pennsylvania in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. But now he is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Thank you so much for being here, Judge Brandon Neuman

I’m Zeke, a doctor, a Pennsylvanian and unapologetic supporter of Democratic values. You might have seen me on social media working my ass off for Democrats and meeting some pretty amazing people along the way - like President Barack Obama and Governor Josh Shapiro.

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.

Thanks for having me Zeke. I look forward to having a great discussion.

it's so good to have you on. You're the first judge that I've ever had on a podcast. Is this the first time you're on a podcast?

I certainly feel honored. Yes, this is the first time I've ever been on a podcast, so I'm looking forward to it.

That's awesome. We're gonna have a great time. So we'll get right into it.

we're gonna start off by playing a game. and I call it name that judge.

where I'm gonna play some intro jingles. I'm not gonna show you what it is, and you're gonna try and name the show. Because I'm sure as a judge, you probably know all of these different judge shows, right?

Okay.

No, actually I don't I have four kids so nine six four and two so unless it is Paw Patrol Sonic or one of those things like that. I probably don't watch much of it, but I will try

Okay, well you're gonna try. I mean, as a physician, have to say I don't watch lot of doctor shows. So, we'll have some fun with this, okay? So here is the first one. Who is the judge on this show? Ready?

Hahaha

So who

that? No idea? All right, well that that is Judge Mathis Judge Mathis, so that's the first one. All right, we'll try so I have three of these okay, so

have no idea. No.

Judge Mathis.

Okay good,

I'm not gonna torture you. Okay,

because I don't know if I'm gonna get any of them, so if it goes beyond three, it's gonna be torture.

all right, so here's the second one. This is a pretty popular one, okay?

Okay.

You know that one?

The only one I really know is Judge Judy. All the other ones. Judge Judy. Alright.

That's it, you got it, that's Judge Judy, you got

it. Okay, so you got one of them, so that's excellent. All right, here's the last one. This one's been around for a long time, this show, so you just might know this because. All right, here we go.

Okay.

Does that ring a bell at all?

People's Court? Yeah, look at that. bad. That's good marketing by them because I shouldn't know who they are.

The People's Court, yes, you got two out of three, that's really good.

It's hilarious, see that's a judge, there's been a lot of judges on that show, but I think Judge Millian is the judge currently on the People's Court. So there you go, well thanks for playing Name That Judge with me.

Okay.

So tell me about your current position. You've had eight years as a judge in the County Court of Common Pleas. What has that been like for you?

Yeah,

I'm in my eighth year and it's been great. I mean, I truly love what I do and the nice thing, you know, I have great colleagues. I've been able to move through dockets as well. So we're assigned individual dockets. So originally I was assigned a family law docket that include divorce, custody, those types of cases. And then I was assigned a criminal docket. That's traditional criminal cases that you would think of. And then I was assigned

civil cases. So that would involve like medical malpractice cases to all the way to landlord tenant cases and everything in between. I'm also the Veterans Court judge as well, which I really enjoy that

the Veterans Court, you get to have a real kind of intimate relationship and have an intimate setting with veterans and try to make sure that they are rehabilitated to the point where we're never going to see them again. And so that's been very rewarding. And my colleagues have been great to trust me with these dockets. And I enjoyed every single one of the dockets so far.

I didn't realize that there was a specific part of the court that was just for veterans. Can you tell me more about that? That's interesting.

Certainly,

so we have treatment courts and so we have mental health courts, we have drug and alcohol DUI courts, and then we also have Veterans Court. And Veterans Court is specific obviously to veterans. They have to have a certain level of offense that they committed and then they are diverted to a Veterans Court where you're not going to be incarcerated.

But you're going to have intense supervision and making sure that you get all your evaluations. Make sure it's your mental health, drug and alcohol, housing, all the way down to family issues. know, we take a very individual and holistic view at this person. They served our country. and they deserve a lot more attention. And so when you look at the Veterans Court, and it's very, very successful,

They have benefits that they are entitled to because of their service that they had no idea. So we have a VA coordinator. She really puts everything together for these veterans. We make sure that they're on the right medications. And then they're usually in my court for 18 months to two years. And they go through a rigorous program. And by the time they leave the court, they're really mentors for other veterans.

so you're kind of like a social worker in a lot of ways.

I oversee a lot of things. My team does just a phenomenal job at making sure that our veterans are taken care of when they're in this program. So there's a whole team that includes a defense attorney, includes a prosecutor, includes a probation officer, a VA coordinator, and myself. And sometimes we have other people part of the team.

Mm-hmm.

And we really try to find an individual solution so that this person can really thrive no matter what their issue may be.

That's great. I never knew that before and I'm glad that you participated that because our veterans deserve so much. They sacrifice so much for our country and I'm glad that there's a whole court dedicated to them. Thank you so much for that.

Yeah, it's very

rewarding and it's one of the things that I really enjoy

you grew up in Washington County, correct?

I did,

yes.

All

right, Washington County, Pennsylvania, which is on the western portion of Pennsylvania, right outside of Pittsburgh. And I want to see how well you know your county. So we're gonna do some trivia, okay? All right, so Washington County is home to which historic event? One of the first major challenges to the US federal government. All right, you got it, I was gonna make a multiple choice, you got it.

Yes.

Okay, alright.

Whiskey Rebellion.

wow, now we have the

Whiskey Rebellion Festival and it's a really fun time and just so everybody knows we're 20 miles south of Pittsburgh so it's a great event, a lot of bands, lot of whiskey, a lot of food and it's just a nice event for Washington.

That is so cool. So I've made it a goal of mine to read the biographies of every president from the beginning. And so when I read about Washington, they talked about the Whiskey Rebellion and how he rode out there and everything. I didn't realize that there was a commemoration festival every year in Washington County. That's really cool.

Yes.

Yes, it is a very, very nice event. Anybody that wants to just have fun and learn about Washington, the city of Washington, Washington County, it's a good place to be.

huh.

That's great. Well, you got the first one right and I learned something there. So the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter is an important archaeological site in Washington County and is famous for what?

Yes.

first settlement in west of the Alleghenies maybe?

Yeah, it's the evidence of some of the earliest human habitation in North America. I guess there's evidence going back 19,000 years. So that's really cool. And again, you didn't even have the multiple choice. That's great. Okay, here's the last question. Washington County is considered the birthplace of which professional sports first organized game? So basketball, baseball, football, or ice hockey?

Yes.

Alright.

I'm gonna go with basketball.

is football. first professional sport was played in.

I should have guessed football. That's my sport. I don't

even really watch basketball, but I didn't think it was football, so I just went with one of the other ones.

Yeah, it's okay.

If you watch, if you watch, listen to the podcast, I am the least sporty person ever. I really rely heavily on other knowledge from people. So I'm glad that you didn't know that one either. Just for my own ego. That's great.

All right. So let's talk about the courts a little bit now. Okay. So what is the superior court and why are you running for this position?

Yeah, so right now currently I'm a trial judge. And so I'm in my eighth year as a trial judge. Most of the appeals that come from my court go to the Superior Court. And so I've had a docket that would include family law, custody cases, divorce cases, any type of criminal case that would go to the Superior Court,

So it is where the bulk of appeals go and every single person in Pennsylvania has a right to appeal to the Superior Court and have the court review it.

gave you the desire to run for that position?

interest of the topics. It's what I did in private practice when I was in the House of Representatives, the laws that I wrote, and I'll be the only judge with the experience of actually writing laws and now interpreting those types of laws. Those types of topics from the ones that are very, very important to families to the ones that are very, very in depth and legal argument. Those are the cases that I like.

make sure that across Commonwealth of Pennsylvania they are fair and that they are even no matter which county you come from.

And so you will be one of the only judges on the Superior Court who had also served in the state legislature?

Yes, currently I don't believe there's any other Superior Court judges that served in a legislature.

what can people do to support your campaign?

So we have a lot of things going on right now. have a lot of

Fortunately, I'm unopposed in the primaries. So our real focus is November. And so you could always go to our website, judgeneuman.com, sign up, get our email alerts, follow us on social media, mostly Facebook right now, but we're developing a more robust social media. And so we are at the stage where we need grassroots people to come to us. And then we can.

Mm-hmm.

obviously give them very, very efficient and tasks that can really help us win in November.

So yeah, you're gonna be on the primary, but running uncontested, and then you'll be on the general election November. And so, yeah, I'll definitely put...

That's right.

And I'll be your first

name on your ballot in November. So it's not hard to find me. I will be the very first one.

Judge Brandon Neuman, and I'll make sure to put your website up as a link so people can go to it. Yeah, no problem.

That would be great.

Let's play another game. It's called Am I Lying? Now you're a judge. so you kind of, this is your wheelhouse now. Okay, so I'm going to tell you a couple things about me and you're going to guess whether or not I'm lying. Okay, am I telling the truth or am lying? Alright, so here's the first one. I've gone skydiving every day of my birthday since I was 21.

Alright.

Yeah.

Hahaha.

Okay. All right.

lying.

That is correct, I am lying, I have never gone skydiving and I don't think I, it's not, I'm not much of a thrill seeker. I mean, I will go on roller coasters with my kids because my wife will not do that, but skydiving is not on my bucket list. So you got the first one correct. Okay, here's the second one. I have moved seven times since I graduated college. That is a truth, that is correct. I've moved, so I moved for medical school and residency and fellowship.

Hahaha

Yeah.

Alright.

Not lying. Truth.

Where'd you go to medical school?

So I went to the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which is about two hours north of where you are. And then I did my residency in Albany, New York at Albany Medical Center and then fellowship at Penn. And then I had a little excursion to Tennessee for a year, then came back to Pennsylvania. I've been here ever since. So I'm an anesthesiologist, but I did a critical care fellowship. So I do a combination of anesthesia and critical care. Yeah.

Yes.

yeah.

What kind of doctor are you?

My brother's

a spinal surgeon at, went to Jefferson for medical school and did his residency there, did his fellowship at Washington U. And then he went to Johns Hopkins and now he's at Washington U in St. Louis. So I know the dedication it takes. Well, I've seen it, the dedication it takes for you to become a doctor. So thank you for what you do to keep us safe.

Okay.

Nice.

wow, that's...

Mm-hmm.

Absolutely. Yeah, there's a lot of moving and my wife and I are happy not to do that again for a while. All right, here's another one. I got married when I was 22 years old.

Yes. Okay.

Hmm I say true

That is true, yes. I met my wife in high school, but she dumped me. That's a much longer story. She did dump me for a period of time. And then in a couple years into college, I like to say she came crawling back after she experienced the cold, hard world. And then we got married right before I started medical school. And we've been married ever since. Yeah, we have three kids. And yeah.

Yeah

Yeah.

Well kudos to her too because that's quite the dedication to be married to someone

in medical school.

yeah,

know, moving all those times and taking care of the kids while I was on call all those days. The medical degree is as much hers as it is mine. Yes.

So when

you lie, your sentences are a little more choppy. You have unnatural breaks between your words. Yes.

Really? Wow, you're human lie detector.

my gosh. Well, this next one you may already know ahead of time, because I kind of gave myself away. But I can name the city where every Super Bowl game has been played since its inception. Yeah, no, I can't do that. I can't do that at all. Okay. And my last one is I always knew I wanted to be an anesthesiologist when I grew up.

Yes.

Yeah, no way.

I say true. I was too confident on that one

That's actually false. I know, you almost had it. Yeah,

that's false. I actually wanted to be a plastic surgeon when I started medical school. And then when I started my rotations and I actually did some surgery, I hated it. I hated it. So I switched to anesthesia and I loved it ever since. So yeah, there you go. So you did a good job. Good job.

Yeah.

Well, you got me on that one.

All right, so prior to taking the bench, you were elected to four terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. What was that experience like for you?

was.

I loved the job. I really did. It was a lot of fun. Um, I enjoyed, uh, the wonky legislative side of it as well. And I enjoyed the constituent services side of it. So in my district, it's really.

number of different jobs in one and I enjoyed every aspect of it, nice thing about getting elected whenever you are young a lot of the state reps really take you under their wing and you know try to really help you with bills or with just general things that are going on in the capitol and so that was very helpful I made a lot of friends continue those friendships today and

It's the state house. It was a really good job. I really enjoyed it.

That's great that you still keep in touch with some of the state reps that you served with.

yeah, they're a lot

of fun. And they were just good people. And it was nice to see people from different parts of the state, different backgrounds. They educated me about their area. I educated them about the Whiskey Rebellion and stuff like that in Washington County.

And it was a very good learning experience.

That's cool.

All right, so let's talk about robes a little bit. Okay, so do you have a specific type of robe you wear based on your mood or season?

I have I have like wedding robes that are just there that I only wear for weddings and then the other the other robe because it's like nicely pressed and it's you know, one it's wedding ready, right? So I have that robe or if I'm gonna swear someone in or if it's ceremonial I have like three or four robes, but they're all kind of the

Okay.

huh.

Okay, alright.

texture. It's just some are a little more worn than others

Okay.

All right, so I didn't know if you were more of a deluxe robe wearer or like a classical robe wearer Classical. Mm-hmm. Okay, I understand. Yeah, I actually was looking up various judicial robes and there's all these websites you can go to to buy robes if you're a judge.

Yeah, I would say it's classical with a zipper they have button ones or they have zipper ones on the zipper rope

Yeah.

And

so I didn't know if you fancied any kind. What about like, you know, RBG used to wear her dissenting necklaces? Do you ever wear anything special that might not be visible? Like, do have a special tie or a ring that you feel strongly about when you write an opinion?

Not when I'm writing opinion, but sometimes I wear quirky socks based on what is or a tie, which you only see kind of the knot of the tie, but you know, lot of people will comment on my socks because certain days I feel I need to, to wear different types of socks, different colors, different messages, those types of things.

Yeah, right.

you

I knew there had to be something. There you go. There had to be some type of flair that you're going to wear as a judge. You have to wear, you know, all black all the

Hahaha!

I do

have gavel cufflinks too. So I wear those occasionally, but not often.

you go. Okay, yeah, there's some flair there. I like that.

All right, so some people say, that interpreting the law shouldn't be a partisan issue, but I think history has shown us time and time again that political ideologies definitely influence the judicial system. So, you are being endorsed by the Democratic Party, you yourself served as a Democrat in the Pennsylvania State House. How does being a Democrat influence your interpretations of the law?

Yes.

So when you, a lot of it's from your background and the lens that you're looking at stuff. know, I've served, you know, there's 500 trial judges in Pennsylvania. The majority, actually every trial judge that I met, even though I would disagree with their opinion or their ruling, from their lens, they believed it to be correct. Even if the Superior Court tells them they're wrong or Supreme Court tells them they're wrong. The Supreme Court tells you you're wrong, you're wrong, right?

And so even if you look at a place like Washington County, where I was able to win both the Democrat and Republican side, when I ran for court of common please, because you can cross file, I represented a very purple district, was able to secure a lot of votes, both in the center and with the Democrat nominations and the Republicans. because you carry the lens from where you are from.

it's, make these races partisan. However, if you look at the rulings, they are fair and impartial. I've had many people on, say they may not agree with it, but what you did was fair.

and so I've been able, I was able to do that even as a state rep. I was able to do that as a running for office and now as a judge, for the, for the last seven plus years.

but within a reasonable degree of certainty, every judge's rulings should be close even if they end up ruling the opposite way.

I mean, obviously the lens that you look through comes from a history that you've practiced for many, many years. in your history as serving in the state house as a Democrat and certainly being endorsed overwhelmingly by the Democratic party, I'm sure that lens will continue to be fair and balanced sitting on the superior court.

And that's what Pennsylvanians deserve. They deserve, you know, a fair, just impartial, someone with a demeanor and temperament to look at an issue, follow the law, and just make sure that everything is done properly. And so that's what I bring to the Superior Court. It's what I've done as a judge in Washington County, and it's something that I'm proud of. And

Yeah.

we're able to capitalize on my fairness and impartiality as we go throughout this campaign.

Thank you for answering that question. really appreciate

What are some of your hobbies?

So I like to fish and so fishing is kind of my version. It is my relaxation. I like to stand in a stream, catch fish, different seasons, you target different fish, those types of things. But I do like to fish. I do like to golf. You know, with the kids, I've always played in softball leagues and stuff like that. Athletics is a big part of my background and my childhood and going through college and all that kind of stuff. So I love athletics as well.

Now it's more enjoying watching my kids play, but I still sneak out every once in a while to play in a softball league. so between fishing is my number one relaxation. Golf takes up a lot of time, so it's few and far between, but I do enjoy golfing. And then just any type of athletics I enjoy doing. But right now it's mostly softball, so my wife always tells me not to get hurt.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Enjoy that.

Hahaha

yeah, no,

I would definitely be the one to get hurt if I ever played a sport.

So why should people care about judicial races in Pennsylvania?

every single position people are running for really impact your life very directly. The appellate courts, the court of common pleas and the magisterial judges, they are really your backstop to your rights. And so nobody comes to court, one, because they're getting along.

or because everybody's agreeing on stuff. And so it's important because nobody really wants to go to court. Nobody wants to go find an attorney. It's more of a needs basis, right? You need something happened. And so you should really care about the person that is making the decision about something that is near and dear to your heart because you need them to make this decision. And so the...

anybody who is paying attention to what's going on across the country here in Pennsylvania, you should want someone who is see through it all is fair, impartial, is going to issue a ruling that's based on the facts presented and the laws it stands. And so people should really care from the top to the bottom for these judges and all the other races.

And so this isn't a traditional political type of race. It's more of who would you want to be sitting there listening to you and making rulings based on what the law is and what the facts that were presented.

And unlike some of the special elections that just happened recently, this is a statewide race, you know, so everybody is going to be able to vote for you. So that's very special in a lot of ways.

That's right.

And let's face it, these are not sexy races. There's probably 0 % of the population outside of people who do appellate work that could name you all the 15 Superior Court judges, right? but that doesn't mean that they're not important.

And so we have, as candidates, we really have to crisscross the state to meet as many people as possible in an efficient way. And this is more of a modern day way to meet people and get our message out. But it's important that everybody understands that we are your backstop to your rights.

And if that backstop goes away, then look out.

Well, I just want you to know I find all levels of politics extremely sexy, which is why I have the Zekely podcast. And I definitely want everyone to know Judge Neuman is running for Superior Court. So I'm going to make sure to get the word out and let as many people know as possible that this is happening. So you got it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So you have four kids, two dogs, and a cat. So I'm very sorry.

Yes, two dogs and a cat. Well, my cat just recently passed away. Yeah.

Uh, or last we had three cats. My wife found them in a trunk of a tree 12 years ago. And then, and so we had three, uh, and then every year one recent, they've, they've passed away. Our last one, Reese was at Calico and she passed away I think February 14th, Valentine's day. I have two dogs, two boxers.

Macy and Daisy. Macy is a geriatric boxer. Daisy is a kind of a two-year-old spark plug of a puppy. then you have four kids. So my house sometimes is a little crazy.

Yeah, that's

crazy. I mean, I was going to ask you a question until you told me that some of your cats passed away. But I guess you're going to replace your cats. Is that something I assume is going to come down the pipeline? OK.

Eventually, yeah, we will

have kittens at some point, yes.

Okay, because my question was going to be when are going to get a horse or something? Because you know...

Don't tell my daughter She's nine and she's always

asked me we need to get a horse. I'm like, I don't think we need to get a horse

family to have that many kids. I have three kids and that's enough for me, but I don't have any pets, you know, so for you to have dogs and then you had cats, that's a lot of work. And I like how you said it's a geriatric dog. You didn't say why you just have an old dog. Is that like, I have a geriatric dog. I've never heard someone call their dog geriatric before. So is that a common thing that people talk about?

Yeah.

You

Now that's the first time I've ever said it, so it's just something. Yeah.

I was like, I have a geriatric dog. It's like I have an old dog. I have

a young dog. That's really funny. Well, I won't say anything to your daughter about getting a horse, but I wouldn't be surprised if you did based on your family. So there you go.

Thank you.

What's been the toughest part of being a judge?

So originally it's the isolation. My first week on the job, I called IT and I said, hey, you got to come up and look at my computer or something wrong. And they looked and I said, well, they said, what's wrong? I said, I have my email set up properly. I said, I haven't gotten any emails today. And they looked at me and said,

Hmm. You just didn't get any emails today And so I had to get used to like you're not allowed to really talk to judges So I had to get used to not having that personal connection or you know seeing people every single day

Hahaha

You're you're you have one subject per case, right? Whenever you're state representative, you got to be on point for whatever someone's going to ask you. And I enjoyed that part. Like I enjoyed having to be on all the time, going to all these events and seeing all these people. So I'd say the isolation was hard as first. And then once you get through that, then it becomes how do you compartmentalize, make a decision, move on. And there's some things that.

You just can't leave at the office. mean, you just hear a bad case. And so how do you not let it impact you on a personal level at home or carry with you? I live my stress out and sleep, so I don't sleep well if I'm stressed. But how are you able to compartmentalize your job and making a decision and also not have it impact you at home?

And so that's probably the balance now is to make sure plus the isolation will always be something, but I've gotten past that.

So by isolation, so I didn't know this and maybe I need to clarify, when you are overseeing a case, you're not allowed to interact with anyone else except for the courtroom during that period of time?

Yes.

So yes, well, there's a couple of things. when I'm presiding over a case, yes, I can have general conversation with the attorneys just as long as everybody's in the room. And then I can have general conversation with individuals. Obviously, I can't talk to anybody about their case.

Mm-hmm.

that would be wrong. But I can have general kind of shallow type of conversation with them. But a lot of people don't know how to talk to judges outside of they're like, he's a judge, am I allowed to talk to him? Do I not talk to him? There's probably a level of intimidation. So when you first get elected, know, a lot of people are very careful around, they're trying to feel you out and things like that. In addition to that, you see people in

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

store, see people at ball games, you see people at soccer games that were in front of you and they don't know how to kind of react to me and it's awkward for me. And so you start feeling very isolated and you always have to be very careful about who's talking to you, what is being said, you know, those types of things. your, scope of conversation narrows a lot.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

and then your

scope of friends narrows a lot.

Interesting. I mean, as a doctor, we obviously have HIPAA rules, HIPAA laws, and we can't violate those even if we see someone who's had an elective procedure at the hospital. If I see them on the street, I can't talk to them about it in front of other people. They might not be comfortable talking about it in the first place. But when you talk about that kind of isolation and trauma, I have a therapist that I go to. I'm curious, you see a therapist and talk about any of that?

Yes.

yeah.

I do not. I'm very fortunate. My sister is a licensed therapist, PhD. And my wife is just, my wife's the best. She's just phenomenal person. She's a pharmacist and she owns a preschool and I'm running statewide and we have four kids and two dogs, no horse. So.

Yeah.

Man, how do you not have a therapist? I guess the question is how do you not have a therapist

at this point?

I don't know. It's probably something I should explore.

I

mean, there's no shame in it. I've definitely leaned on my therapist a lot over the years, certainly with difficult cases. I deal with death and a lot of trauma and just the hours of working. COVID was very difficult. And so, yeah, I can relate to a lot of those things that you go through. Well, thank you for telling me all about that.

Absolutely not.

I'm sure.

Judges are incredibly common in popular culture. mean, have America's Got Talents, So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef. mean, being a judge is actually very popular. People want to be judged in some way and win. So I'm curious, are there any shows that you'd love to be a judge on? Like a fun show.

I have kids watch that cake show, cake or not cake.

yeah.

I would want to be America's Got Talent. If I had a pick, I mean, I like cake, don't get me wrong, and I would eat that cake. But in terms of the interest level and just kind of the absolute phenomenal performances that these people put on, I would love to be the lay person that really has no discernible talent.

Okay, Mm-hmm. Who doesn't?

Mm-hmm.

huh. Yeah.

that could say if these people are good or not and

give people my opinion and probably get booed. I like America's Got Talent because it has an array of different things.

Okay.

All right. And you just hit the golden buzzer every time, even though you only get one. That's awesome. That's great. Well, one day, we all can hope for you.

Maybe one day.

In an unprecedented fashion, Trump and Republicans in Congress are threatening to impeach judges they don't like. So do you feel your role as a judge is even more important in the face of these attacks on the judiciary?

I think our role more so than the judiciary, would also include the whole system. So attorneys as well. I think it's more important now than ever that people understand that the decisions that are being made by judges that are not making the news every single day are good, sound decisions that are fair and impartial, no matter where you are in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Mm-hmm.

I think it's our job to talk about it. I think it's attorney's job to make sure that they understand that they need to be proud of their profession and talk to their profession. And I think it's the judiciary specifically, we need to make sure that people understand that what we do is a vital part of our system. know, there are three co-equal branches of government. We are on the front lines in terms of

either helping people or trying to protect people or do something to that is very individualistic for that community. so look, one. We're isolated two we don't have a voice. We don't issue press releases. We don't have the luxury of really doing those types of things. But in a at a micro level, like in Washington County, we have to live with integrity.

Mm-hmm.

Like we have to show that we are above reproach and that we can live in our society, in our communities, and people respect us. And so some of the situation where you see, you know, a ruling here or a ruling there, that's kind of like...

Right. Yeah.

out of touch, right? What we do is very in touch. are much more community oriented.

And we need to live and make sure that we are being not just judges, but we are being individuals that people can be proud of.

Yeah, you have to, like as you said, integrity and canceling out the noise. You you're practicing law and you are essentially influencing the lives of not just one Pennsylvanian, but your rulings affect all Pennsylvanians. And so you're focusing on that. That's what's most important.

Yes.

Focusing on getting it right,

So you have a large family. I can only assume that you dabble in some type of cooking. Correct? you dabble? Okay, so what's your go-to meal that you know your family will enjoy?

Yeah, we are.

So if I have time, because I enjoy cooking, if I have time, I make homemade pasta and homemade meatballs. Yes, I make homemade KitchenAid, know, the whole thing. I gotta have time though. Yeah, no, it's, I enjoy cooking if I'm not rushed. But usually, I'm generally in charge of dinner Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Homemade pasta? Really?

Yeah, that sounds labor intensive.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay, so Tuesdays and Thursdays, my general go-to is my kids like shrimp. So I run and get some shrimp and saute them and garlic and olive oil and things of that nature. then, now if there's no time, I make a killer grilled cheese. it's the kids love it. Yeah, now, but I enjoy cooking. I enjoy grilling.

You gotta be good at grilled cheese if you're a dad. I mean come on.

My kids aren't as picky as most, so I'm fortunate in that aspect, but sometimes they just look at what I make and they just don't.

Yeah, I hear that. So are you a clean as you go cook or do you make a huge mess and then clean everything at the end?

It depends. So if I'm using the metal bowls to mix, I clean those as I go. If I have a pan, I'll let that cool off. I won't clean that until I'm finished. But I am a dry as I go person, as I wash person. I know some people like, my wife included, she likes to put things on a drying rack. And so I'm not a drying rack person. I'm like, if I wash it, I'm gonna dry it.

Yeah.

huh, yeah, yeah.

Don't always put it away, but I try to put it away once I try.

It's going to be.

but it has to be cabinet ready regardless. There you go. Understood, understood.

That's my position, yes.

All right, I have two more questions for you, okay? What gives you hope?

Certainly.

My kids,

just watching my kids grow up, they give me hope that there is going to be a brighter future. And our job is to just make sure that we leave our country and our community better off than how we found it. And I hope that we can do that.

This is the greatest country in the world and there are a lot of good people in this country. And the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has just always been protecting people's rights at the forefront of making sure that things are done fairly.

But at the end of the day, I am a believer in people and I'm looking at this next generation and I got a lot of hope. They give me a lot of hope.

My kids give me lot of hope too.

And my last question for you is what plans do you have to get yourself through these next few years?

one not watch any news, right?

Okay,

that's gonna be good for sure.

And always stay connected to your community because that's where it is.

You know, watching kids play outside, play football and baseball and soccer, watching my kids grow And just being someone that people want to be around. You know, if you can be a good person that people want to be around, then you're doing something right. And so I do.

want to be that person. I try not to get caught up in anything that would harm me or my family. And I just I enjoy people and I'm a believer in people. whatever happens, I think that we we can get can get through this. I hate to jump back to the campaign, but that's why I'm here. A lot of it does end up coming through the courts. And so

Mm-hmm.

Me being in a position where I can make an impact on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania really excites me. It'd be an honor to do it. I just love the intellect of it. I love the challenge of it. And I just look forward to, you know, not only campaigning across the Commonwealth, but hopefully after I win, just being part of something special. And so I think the Superior Court of Pennsylvania is something special.

that doesn't get a lot of recognition, but in terms of the work that they do and the product that they put out, is a special type of place.

You sound like a connector. You know, want to connect people, you like connecting with others, and I think that's important for life in general and certainly in a position of being a judge. So I am extremely happy to hear that's going to get you through these next few years.

Thank

Well, Judge Brandon Neuman.

on the Zekely podcast, running for superior court. Everyone who is a registered voter in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is going to be able to vote for you in November. And we must make sure that you win because we need level headed, competent, empathetic judges sitting on the bench in Pennsylvania. And I believe that you are that person. So I wish you the best of luck and I will continue to promote you everywhere I can. And I don't think this is the last we're going to see each other.

No, I look forward to doing this again, It was a great conversation. We made light of some situations, which is fun for me because I don't get to do that too much anymore. And I enjoy just the general conversation that we had and you promoting me on your show.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for your time. I know you're extremely busy and you're working every day right now in between campaigning. So congratulations on running and I hope the best for you.

Thanks, look forward to talking to you again.

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much everyone 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.