Pa. Supreme Court Justice McCaffery suspended in email porn scandal

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday suspended Justice Seamus McCaffery with pay for sending and receiving 234 emails containing pornographic photographs or videos.

The court's order called the material “extremely disturbing” based on Chief Justice Ronald Castille's review of the emails.

After apologizing last week for a “lapse in judgment,” McCaffery, 64, blamed Castille for the disclosure of emails from 2008 and 2009, saying it was “a vindictive pattern of attacks.” Castille, 70, had demanded the emails from the attorney general's office after the attorney general this month released sexually explicit emails circulated among former prosecutors.

Neither McCaffery nor Castille could be reached. The justices have had a long-running feud. Castille, the former Philadelphia district attorney and a Republican, faces mandatory retirement by Dec. 31.

McCaffery is “hereby relieved (of duty) on an interim” basis, the court's order said. The matter is under investigation by the Judicial Conduct Board, Chief Counsel Robert Graci told citizen activist Gene Stilp, who filed a complaint. The high court's order gives the conduct board 30 days to decide whether there's probable cause for formal misconduct charges. The order also appoints Pittsburgh lawyer Robert Byer, a former Commonwealth Court judge, as special counsel.

Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University law school professor, said the action against McCaffery sets “a terrible precedent” and is “absolutely a power grab.”

“They can suspend any person they don't like,” Ledewitz said.

Most of the emails came from McCaffery's personal email to a former attorney general's agent at a state email address. The ex-agent, like McCaffery, is a former Philadelphia police officer. The agent was not named in statements by Castille or Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

Castille said in a concurring opinion to the order that in one instance the emails depicted a “naked 100-year-old woman as the target of a sexual joke” and included a video of a woman and a snake.

It has caused the court to be “held up to public ridicule.” Castille said.

Other allegations against McCaffery, according to the order, include improperly contacting a Philadelphia traffic court official about a citation issued to McCaffery‘s wife. He also “may have acted in his official capacity” to authorize his wife's acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars in referral fees from plaintiff lawyers while she served as his administrative assistant, the order said.

McCaffery, a Democrat, spent two decades as a police officer before joining the high court in 1993. He achieved notoriety in Philadelphia heading the “Eagles Court,” serving as a Municipal Court judge for fans taken into custody at Philadelphia Eagles games.

McCaffery makes $200,205 annually.

The porn scandal ensnared a second justice last week.

Justice Michael Eakin, former Cumberland County DA and a Republican, said inappropriate emails came to his private email account, which was set up under the phony name “John Smith.” Eakin's account received explicit and racist images in 2010, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. Eakin blamed McCaffery for turning emails over to the media.

Eakin also claimed McCaffery threatened him with release of the emails unless he could persuade Castille to retract comments that McCaffery was the only justice who received sexually explicit emails; McCaffery denied the allegation.

Eakin reported his conduct to the Judicial Conduct Board.

Eakin and McCaffery did not participate in the court's decision Monday.

Justice Debra Todd, a Democrat from Allegheny County, issued a dissenting statement on McCaffery's suspension.

She said based on “unvetted claims and allegations, a majority of our court, one of whom has deeply involved in this controversy, has suspended a fellow justice. No independent investigative body has made any findings regarding merits or credibility.”

Todd said her dissent was not on the merit of the facts but rather procedure. She said the independent Judicial Conduct Board and, if a complaint is founded, the Court of Judicial Discipline, should decide the matter.

“Even a justice is entitled to due process,” Todd wrote.

A review by the attorney general's office found McCaffery's emails contained more than 700 unique sexually explicit images and 60 unique video files, according to a statement last week by Castille.

Wes Oliver, another Duquesne law school professor, said Castille “painted himself into a corner” by earlier calling for immediate action. As a result, “anything short of immediate action would be viewed as sweeping it under the rug,” Oliver said.

Brad Bumsted is a state Capitol reporter for Trib Total Media.