The Legal Intelligencer Blog

Watch Video Project of Philly Judges Recalling History

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

A documentary project portraying a dozen senior judges in Philadelphia is now available on The Legal’s website.

The video was developed out of a project to preserve the history of the judges whose portraits hang in City Hall and the realization by the project organizers that much of that history was already lost.

The story on the project, including senior judges reflecting on the current controversy of mandatory judicial retirement, can be read here.

Traffic Court Legislation on Its Way to Governor

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved the enabling legislation that would eliminate the Philadelphia Traffic Court in the wake of the latest ticket-fixing scandal within that body.

The Senate had already passed the bill but today concurred in two amendments made in the House of Representatives.

State Senator Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, the majority leader of the Senate and the sponsor of the legislation, said “it is past time to do away with this institution,” citing several past instances of criminal cases arising out of the court and the most recent criminal case in which several current and former Traffic Court judges were charged by federal prosecutors with ticket-fixing. Three judges have pled guilty. Six have entered pleas of not guilty.

When Governor Tom Corbett signs the bill into law, the elections for three Traffic Court judges scheduled for this year will be canceled, Pileggi said.

The legislation would create a traffic division within Municipal Court, would create two new Municipal Court judges to adjudicate any Traffic Court cases involving jail sentencing, and would provide that the one judge who is still sitting and has not been charged criminally would be phased out.

Legislators also have approved a second bill that would eliminate the constitutional authority for the Philadelphia Traffic Court if the legislation passes again in 2014 and then is approved by Pennsylvania voters in 2015.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.

City Still on Track to Hire Conflict Counsel

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The city of Philadelphia still plans to enter into a contract with a legal services vendor to represent Philadelphians in criminal and family cases with which the Defender Association of Philadelphia has a conflict, according to Michael R. Resnick, director of public safety.

“We’ve had a preliminary meeting of the RFP review committee to review the five proposals that were submitted,” Resnick said in an email. “We will be meeting again shortly to discuss which respondents we would like to give presentations and answer our questions. Once that phase is complete, we will hopefully have selected a vendor with whom we will enter into a contract.”

In the wake of the Philadelphia city government's assumption of responsibility for the payment of private attorneys appointed in criminal and family cases, the Nutter administration sought "creative and innovative" proposals on legal representation in cases in which the defender association has a conflict.

The deadline for proposals was a couple of months ago.

The Philadelphia Bar Association has questioned a for-profit model on the grounds that “it will create a tension pitting the needs of the individual indigent client with the desires and goals of the entity to make a profit."

In response, the Nutter administration has asked attorneys from the bar association to help review applicants’ proposals.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.

Attorney Disagrees Precedent Pre-empts Judicial Retirement Suit in Commonwealth Court

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

During Pennsylvania Supreme Court oral arguments in two lawsuits challenging mandatory judicial retirement, Justice J. Michael Eakin asked about another lawsuit currently pending in the Commonwealth Court and whether all three cases could be tossed because the high court, in Gondelman v. Commonwealth, has previously rejected a constitutional challenge to mandatory retirement.

J. Bart DeLone, a senior deputy attorney general who argued against overturning the retirement requirement in both the Supreme and Commonwealth courts, said in response to Eakin that Gondelman does control all three cases.

However, one of the attorneys for the judicial plaintiffs in the Commonwealth Court case said in an interview that their lawsuit differs from the two lawsuits taken up by the Supreme Court under its extraordinary jurisdiction.

Tom Groshens, of Sprague & Sprague, said in an interview that “our case includes claims by qualified voters who contend that mandatory retirement deprived them of the efficacy of their vote for [Commonwealth Court Senior] Judge [Rochelle S.] Friedman for a 10-year term because that 10-year term was cut short by three years.” The lawsuit also involves a challenge to the 2001 constitutional amendment that changed the mandatory retirement from the birthdays on which judges turn 70 to the end of the year in which judges turn 70.

Some judges get to serve longer than others just because of when their birthdays fall, which is “amplified discrimination,” Groshens said.

Further, the presiding judge in Commonwealth Court, Senior Judge James Gardner Colins, said that he was not sure Gondelman applies to all the theories in the Friedman suit – “indeed, the people elected the individual jurists to a 10-year term,” Groshens pointed out.

When asked for comment, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office referred The Legal to the government’s brief.

The presence of the three voters is beside the point, because they “are presenting the same claim that the Supreme Court rejected in Gondelman,” DeLone, Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane and John G. Knorr III, chief deputy attorney general, wrote in the Commonwealth Court brief.

While the plaintiffs claim the 2001 amendment “exacerbates the violation of Article I,” the state’s brief said. “But this, too, can make no difference: the holding in Gondelman is that in forming or altering their government, the people are not constrained by the provisions of Article I,” which spells out the fundamental rights Pennsylvanians have under the state constitution.

The Legal’s full coverage of the oral arguments can be read here.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.

Orie Melvin's Resignation Official Today

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

Suspended Justice Joan Orie Melvin's stint on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is over today.

In March, Orie Melvin, who was convicted of political corruption earlier this year, resigned from the high court. The resignation is effective today. Orie Melvin's sentencing is scheduled in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas for May 7. The Legal is set to cover the sentencing.

Governor Tom Corbett now has 90 days to nominate a lawyer or judge to serve on the high court until Orie Melvin's seat can be placed on the ballot for the 2015 election. Two-thirds of the state Senate must vote in favor of the interim justice. Republicans control the upper house but do not have enough party members to muster two-thirds on their own. The Senate Democratic leadership has stated that a more moderate nominee from Corbett is necessary in order to garner their party support.

Members of the Supreme Court have differed on whether the court would appoint an interim justice on its own. Justice J. Michael Eakin has commented that while he thinks the high court has the power to appoint an interim justice, he does not think the court will do it out of respect for the separation of powers between the branches of government. In contrast, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille has said the court would consider appointing a senior judge.

What all agree on is that having three-three splits from a six-member court on important legal issues is a bad thing.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.

Another Candidate Responds to 'Not Recommended' Rating

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The Legal reached one more Philadelphia judicial candidate after our print deadline passed for our story on the ratings arm of the Philadelphia Bar Association rating 13 judicial candidates as "not recommended."

Tracy Brandeis-Roman, who is running as Tracy B. Roman and who pulled the first ballot slot for Municipal Court and the second slot for Common Pleas Court, said this morning that she was "shocked and dismayed" by the "not recommended" rating. Brandeis-Roman said other lawyers with less experience were recommended, that she has more than 20 years of experience practicing law and that she is questioning the methods of the bar association. The full story can be read here.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.

Watch a Documentary on Philadelphia Senior Judges

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

 The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas has completed a modern twist on the judicial portrait: a documentary with interviews with the seasoned jurists. You can watch the documentary, which clocks in at less than a half-hour, here. My story, which includes blunt thoughts from three senior judges on mandatory judicial retirement, can be read here.

 

Trial Date Set in Traffic Court Ticket-Fixing Prosecution

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The federal judge presiding over the criminal cases of the Philadelphia Traffic Court judges charged with fixing tickets has scheduled their trial for November 12.

U.S. District Senior Judge Robert F. Kelly of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered an order setting trial last week. Kelly also scheduled all pretrial motions to be heard October 28.

Three judges have pled guilty to charges related to ticket-fixing, but have not been sentenced yet. Only one of the judges has explicitly agreed to cooperate as part of his plea deal.

Suspended Traffic Court Judge Robert Mulgrew, who took the bench in 2008 and is already facing charges for an alleged scheme to defraud the state Department of Community and Economic Development, is set to go to trial in a separate criminal case June 5.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.

Judicial 'Merit Selection' Gets Renewed Push by Four Ex-Governors

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

A bill that would give Pennsylvania voters the opportunity to decide whether to amend the state constitutional process for electing appellate court judges has a better chance of advancing than it has in the past, former Governor Ed Rendell said Monday. There is a better chance, he said in a conference call with reporters, because Rendell and three other former governors have come out in favor of the legislation and because Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin’s political corruption conviction has again pointed out the dangers of having judicial candidates campaign for office.

Rendell, a former Democratic governor; Tom Ridge, a former Republican governor; Dick Thornburgh, a former Republican governor; and George Leader, a former Democratic governor, wrote a letter to every member of the General Assembly in favor of a proposed bill that would set up a bipartisan commission that would select five candidates for every appellate-court vacancy to create a shortlist from which the governor would have to make an appointment. All those appointees would be subject to retention elections by voters, and trial-court judges would still be elected directly. The bill would have to be passed by the General Assembly two times before going to a referendum before voters.

Some of the problems with electing judges are that there are great amounts of money raised in appellate-court races, raising the possibility of “potential deference owed to donors,” Thornburgh said.

The genius of the framers of American government was that the judiciary was to be a body independent of people’s opinions, Ridge said. “It’s about … experience and temperament and the rule of law and upholding the constitution and not public opinion,” Ridge said.

Thornburgh cited a quote by Woodrow Wilson that he “would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose,” to explain why he continues to push for a change in how judges are selected.

The bill was introduced in the Senate by state Senator Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, and state Senator Richard Alloway, R-Adams, and Representative Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, is circulating the bill for co-sponsors, said Lynn Marks of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.

U.S. Attorney Supports Re-entry Over Retribution

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

Law enforcement can't arrest its way out of crime, U.S. Attorney Zane D. Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said, even though he has spent his 22-year career investigating crimes, prosecuting cases and sending convicted criminals to prison.

Memeger, who was speaking last week on a panel held after the screening of a documentary that follows three men who have re-entered society after serving time in prison, said there has been a "shift in the Department of Justice to focus on prevention efforts and re-entry efforts," including because most ex-convicts are coming back.

"Andy A.," one of the men profiled in the film, Pull of Gravity, said “the pull of this lifestyle is really addictive. It’s as powerful as gambling and using. You don’t have to be an addict … who uses drugs. … the lifestyle is addictive, the hustling.”

Rebecca Vallas, an attorney with Community Legal Services who works on civil legal issues related to ex-offenders, said the pull is one side of the coin, but the other side of the coin is the barriers in place for ex-cons being able to do what they want to do with their lives.

One in three people in the United States has some kind of criminal conviction, but having such a conviction blocks them from employment, credit, public housing and private housing, Vallas said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Rice of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who oversees one of the re-entry courts for federal prisoners that gives them the chance to leave prison early in exchange for getting jobs and getting other social services, said the program isn't to reduce recidivism but "to help people. We help rebuild their lives."

Andy A., who is participating in a lot of support groups for ex-cons, said not everyone who has done time in prison wants help, including those who have been court-ordered to attend such programming. The people who need help need to be identified, he said.

Jonathan Kaufman, co-director of the documentary, said many people who are coming out of prison have a lot of "invisible wounds" from trauma of being incarcerated, including post-traumatic stress disorder. They also might have had PTSD before they went into the system because of growing up in violent neighborhoods, Kaufman said.

The other co-director was El Sawyer, who also served time in prison.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be contacted at 215-557-2354 or aelliott-engel@alm.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisTLI.