By Liz Zemba

Published: Friday, January 18, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Updated: Friday, January 18, 2013

An assistant district attorney on Thursday announced her candidacy as a judge for Fayette County Common Pleas Court.

Linda Cordaro, 52, who is the county's child abuse prosecutor, will seek one of two open seats on the court.

Judges Ralph Warman and Gerald Solomon retired last year. Both are now working part time as senior judges.

A registered Democrat, Cordaro will seek both the Republican and Democratic nominations in the May 21 primary.

Cordaro said she has handled thousands of cases during her 18-year legal career, both in private practice and as a prosecutor. She is a principal in the Connellsville law firm Horewitz, Cordaro, Dietz and Miele.

Cordaro has prosecuted more than 100 criminal jury trials, including homicides, kidnappings, rapes, drugs, robberies and white-collar crimes, she said.

For the past two years, she has focused on prosecuting child abuse cases.

“I've developed a particular sensitivity to the youngest, most innocent victims that will enable me to improve the process they have to go through when it comes time for them to face their accuser and testify against their accuser,” Cordaro said Thursday. “I would like to see as many accommodations provided to young victims of sexual assault offenses and violent offenses, as far as the trial process and how it further affects them.”

The courts, she said, have an “immense role” in ensuring families' safety and integrity.

“Our children are our future, but they are vulnerable, and we must protect them from those who wish them harm,” she said in a news release. “The court system should do everything in its power to assure that these societal misfits who hurt children receive the full punishment that their criminal convictions entail.”

In her private practice, Cordaro said, she handles business transactions, real estate matters, family law, estate planning/administration, civil litigation and personal injury cases.

She is involved in a number of community activities, including board membership on the Uniontown Salvation Army and the Health Choices Advisory Board. She is a member of Soroptimist International's Uniontown chapter and previously served on the steering committee of Downtown Connellsville.

Liz Zemba is a reporter for Trib Total Media.

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