Judiciary

Did any Pennsylvania judges receive 'porngate' emails? Chief justice wants to know

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Pennsylvania’s chief justice wants to know if any judges were among the state officials who exchanged sexually explicit emails on state computers uncovered in an inquiry dubbed “porngate.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille said any judges who exchanged “grossly pornographic” emails could be violating ethics rules, report the Morning Call, the Associated Press, the Pittsburgh Tribune and the Philadelphia Inquirer in stories here and here. Castille asked for the information after sources told the Inquirer that top judges were among those getting the emails.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane released some of the emails last Thursday in a special media-only viewing. The emails, sent on state computers during work hours, were uncovered in a review of the Jerry Sandusky prosecution and released in response to media requests.

The Morning Call describes the emails this way: “The pictures and videos that reporters saw were not just old-fashioned Playboy centerfolds. Most show sex acts, some with sex toys and various objects. In some photos, women portray sexually subservient secretaries, accompanied by phrases like ‘Devotion: making your boss happy is your only job.’ “

Some of the emails had as many as 50 recipients. Kane released the names of eight people who received the emails. The list of recipients included former prosecutors and current state police commissioner Frank Noonan, who received 338 emails but did not send any, according to a Kane spokesperson.

Hat tip to How Appealing.

Mistake in lede corrected at 8:20 AM.

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