Judiciary
Biker Rally Plea for Cash Violated Judicial Ethics Rules, Board Finds
Posted Dec 3, 2008, 02:26 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Philadelphia traffic judge who sought campaign donations at a motorcycle club rally violated ethics rules by implying the cash would buy favorable treatment, an ethics board has found.
Judge Willie Singletary passed the hat during the “blessing of the bikes,” the Philadelphia Daily News reports. The opinion by the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline quoted Singletary as telling the bikers, "Now, you all want me to get there [Traffic Court], you're all going to need my hook-up, right?" A video of the event was posted on YouTube.
Singletary was elected last year despite racking up more than $11,000 in unpaid fines for 55 traffic tickets, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The judicial discipline ruling said Singletary was "the pure antithesis of the concept of 'judge,’ ” according to the Inquirer report.
Singletary has 10 days to file objections to the findings. If he doesn’t act, the board will schedule a hearing on whether to impose sanctions.
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