PA Court of Judicial Discipline finds Lancaster District Judge violated conduct rules as candidate

by DAN NEPHIN

Lancaster District Judge Andrew LeFever.

Lancaster city District Judge Andrew LeFever violated judicial conduct rules by being a candidate in the May 2019 primary election while he was a Lancaster City Democratic Committee person and endorsed himself, the state’s Court of Judicial Discipline has ruled.

The court issued its order Monday but did not impose sanctions or indicate when it will do so. Sanctions can range from unspecified discipline to suspension or removal from office.

LeFever and the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, which filed the charges in November 2020, have until Feb. 24 to respond to the court’s order. After any objections are resolved, the court will schedule a sanction hearing and sanctions will be issued later, but there’s not a timeframe, a Judicial Conduct Board attorney said.

LeFever’s attorney, Robert A. Graci, former chief counsel of the Judicial Conduct Board and a retired state Superior Court judge, said he and his client were reviewing the order.

LeFever, a former county prosecutor, was elected in November 2019 and took office in January 2020. His district covers the city’s northeast. District judges are elected to six-year terms and are paid $93,338.

Though LeFever had also been accused of violating the rules by also voting to endorse school board and city council candidates, the court cleared him of that charge.

LeFever testified at a hearing in September that although he previously said he voted in February 2019 to endorse the candidates, he could not recall doing so, according to the order. His campaign manager said he did not.

Still, the court found, LeFever violated the rules by endorsing himself when he was a committee person.

LeFever maintained he became a candidate when he filed nominating petitions on March 12, 2019. He resigned from the committee the day before.

But the court said the rules were clear that “an individual becomes a judicial candidate when he or she makes a public announcement of candidacy or when he or she solicits or accepts support for his or her campaign.”

That happened when LeFever announced on Facebook on Jan. 27, 2019, that he was running for district judge, the court ruled.

The case began with a confidential request for an investigation to the Judicial Conduct Board. Both of LeFever’s opponents previously told LNP | LancasterOnline that they did not make a complaint.

The board wanted LeFever suspended while the charges were litigated, but that didn’t happen.

District judges handle summary criminal cases and traffic and non-traffic citations, try civil cases not exceeding $12,000, and preside over preliminary hearings for criminal charges.

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PA Court of Judicial Discipline finds Lancaster District Judge violated conduct rules as candidate