Justice Eakin's trial over Porngate emails scheduled for March 29 in Philly

Suspended state Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin will be tried next month in Philadelphia over allegations that he engaged in inappropriate email practices that tainted the reputation of Pennsylvania's court system.

Superior Court Judge Jack A. Panella, who is also conference judge for the state's Court of Judicial Discipline, scheduled Eakin's ethics trial for March 29 in an order issued Tuesday. The setting will be Courtroom 612 in Philadelphia City Hall.

In choosing that site, Panella noted the courtroom is "high-tech equipped" so emails Eakin sent or received can be shown on a video screen during the trial, which will be open to the public.

Eakin is on the hot seat in the so-called Porngate scandal, for being part of an email chain that passed on what critics contend were offensive message that were sexist and racist.

Eakin, a former Superior court judge and Cumberland County district attorney, has apologized for his email activity, but argued that his online actions don't warrant discipline. In December, a three-judge panel of the Court of Judicial Discipline suspended him with pay over the emails.

The stakes will be high for Eakin when he enters that courtroom in Philly. If the disciplinary court rules against him he will face punishment, including possible removal from the state's highest court.
The 67-year-old Republican was elected to the Supreme Court in 2001 and won retention in 2011. By law, Pennsylvania judges must retire at age 70, although there is a push to extend that cut-off to age 75.

Eakin is one of the highest officials to come under scrutiny in Porngate, which was triggered by emails Attorney General Kathleen Kane uncovered while reviewing the handling of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation case. A fellow Justice, Seamus P. McCaffrey, was suspended and then retired in 2014 after disclosure of his questionable emails.

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Justice Eakin's trial over Porngate emails scheduled for March 29 in Philly

Pa. Supreme Court justice charged in email scandal

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin

The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board Tuesday charged Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin with violating the state's rules of judicial conduct and the state Constitution by participating knowingly and routinely in chains of sexually suggestive and vulgar or offensive emails.

In a complaint filed with the Court of Judicial Discipline, the board held Eakin, who has been on the court since 2002, violated rules that instruct judges to avoid off-bench activities that create an appearance of impropriety or call into question a judge's impartiality.

Eakin also violated sections of the Constitution, the report alleges, that require judges to remain in compliance with those rules.

Eakin will now face a hearing before the state's Court of Judicial Discipline. Efforts to reach his attorney, William Costopoulos, were not immediately successful.

 

Justice J. Michael Eakin's response to judicial conduct charges

Eakin said he welcomes the process.

The current case started in late September, when embattled Attorney General Kathleen Kane gave various state agencies about 1,500 emails, including some linked to Eakin, that she believes present violations of rules of judicial conduct and general state ethics codes.

The emails initially turned up in the course of a data-mining process undertaken during Kane's 2013-14 review of her predecessors' handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse investigation.
Eakin had no role in that case.

Rather, his emails - many of who appeared on threads with another Attorney General prosecutor who used to work for Eakin - came under scrutiny after Kane undertook a broader review of pornographic and other inappropriate emails traded back and forth on OAG servers that captured traffic between OAG staffers and Supreme Court justices.

The emails, on a Yahoo.com account, include sexually suggestive pictures of nude women, adult humor and a number of gender, racial and ethnic jokes hat have proven offensive to various groups.
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Pa. Supreme Court justice charged in email scandal

Board to decide whether to charge justice in email scandal

Michael Eakin is being investigated for his role in an explicit email ring

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The board that investigates misconduct allegations against Pennsylvania judges said Tuesday it will soon decide whether charges are warranted against state Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin over his email practices.

Eakin is under investigation for his role in an explicit email ring that also involved other judges and the state attorney general's office. He has publicly apologized for what he described as insensitive and out-of-character emails from an account at Yahoo.com under the name "John Smith."

The Judicial Conduct Board wrote Eakin's lawyer to say its rules probably did not permit them to stop an investigation and send the case directly to the Court of Judicial Discipline, as Eakin requested.

"The board's completion of the investigation is necessary to fulfill our responsibility to determine if probable cause exists to file formal charges in the Court of Judicial Discipline and, if appropriate, present the case in support of the charges," wrote board member James Schwartzman, who signed the letter to Eakin lawyer Bill Costopoulos. "The board will not abdicate its duties and responsibilities."

Schwartzman said the investigation "is almost complete and (the board) hopes to reach a decision on whether to file a complaint in the near future."

The charges the board brings are not criminal charges. If the court determines there is sufficient evidence of misconduct, it can impose discipline that includes reprimand, suspension with or without pay, or permanent removal from office.

Costopoulos asked the board last week to immediately "remove the matter" to the Court of Judicial Discipline to alleviate mistrust of the process.

The board's chief counsel, Bob Graci, and chairwoman, District Judge Jayne Duncan, have both stepped aside from the Eakin case.

A newspaper reported that another board member received pornographic images in an email from then-Justice Seamus McCaffery, who abruptly retired a year ago after his fellow justices suspended him.

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Board to decide whether to charge justice in email scandal