Legal Ethics
Former Pa. Chief Justice Says Lawsuit is ‘Preposterous’
Posted May 21, 2008, 09:00 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Former Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ralph Cappy labels as “preposterous” a lawsuit that accuses him of leading legislators to believe that the court would issue a favorable ruling on a gambling law in exchange for judicial pay raises.
Cappy issued a statement saying the charges in the suit filed by the League of Women Voters consist of “falsehoods, speculation and innuendo," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The court’s current chief justice, Ronald Castille, also issued a statement saying the lawsuit "slanders the entire Supreme Court” and is “ludicrous in every respect,” the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
"The filing parties may have subjected themselves to sanctions, and the attorney may have subjected himself to disciplinary action," Castille wrote.
Paul Rossi, the lawyer for the League of Women Voters, told the Patriot-News the group is not alleging the state supreme court changed its decision in the slots suit because of the pay raise. Instead he said the suit alleges an appearance of impropriety created a due process violation.
"Justices in this state are too chummy with the executive and legislative branches," Rossi said. "That's what this case is about."
The League of Women Voters had challenged the 2004 law legalizing slot machines, but lost most of its appeal before the state supreme court. The legislature approved pay raises for judges two weeks after the ruling.
A hat tip to How Appealing, which posted the stories.
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