Profiles in Justice: Kelly Burkhardt
Before joining the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in April, Allentown, Pennsylvania native Kelly Burkhardt’s path to the office was not a traditional one. Where many Victim and Witness coordinators aspire to be paralegals or attorneys, Kelly’s background is steeped in community leadership and activism in the LGBTQ community for over 20 years. “My passion was speaking up for marginalized communities in privileged spaces.”
Along the way, she met Movita Johnson-Harrell, now the DAO’s Victim and Witness Services Supervisor. When Kelly expressed an interest in joining the office as a Coordinator this year, Movita was thrilled to have her on board.
“I have empathy having been through a lot personally, having been a victim myself, so I just understand. I felt it was organic,” says Kelly. “I really believe in Larry and the mission. But I also felt a need to have the LGBTQ community’s voice in the office.”
Since taking on her new role, she says that the biggest challenge faced so far has been trying to explain the court and justice system to survivors.
“Sometimes, movies and TV sort of embellish what goes on in court proceedings and actually the whole process, from arrest to sentencing. Many times people will call us up and say ‘I want to drop the charges.’ And we have to explain that unfortunately we can’t do that. That’s sort of the toughest part. And a lot of times people don’t want to come to court for various reasons.”
“The vast amount of resources we’re able to provide victims, whether it’s helping them get restitution for stolen or damaged property, or whether they still need medical treatment.”
For instance, some victims living in low-income public housing are sometimes evicted from their residence, according to anecdotes told to her from some survivors. There are also instances in which patterns of intimidation and the threat of physical violence against a witness are so great that relocating a survivor will be necessary. Kelly also stresses that part of the work she does in the unit involves letting victims know that they have rights.
“A lot of people feel that — in fact I just heard it today — that the DA’s Office isn’t here for victims,” which she says just isn’t true. She cites the expansion of Victim and Witness Coordinators to almost every department within the District Attorney’s Office, and the creation of the Philly C.A.R.E.S. model which seeks to send trauma-informed responders to scenes of fatal shootings to connect co-victims of homicide to critical services in the immediate aftermath of a crime. The initiative will also help reduce retaliatory shootings.
As for the future?
“I’m very excited about where we’re going, that our Coordinators are working towards greater case management.” She says that building out that feature of her unit will allow prosecutors to focus on constructing sound cases and achieve justice.
“I think it’s really important for folks to know that we’re not just trying to get you to court. We’re trying to help get your life back together.”
