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1. Posted by Average attorney - 1 month, 4 weeks, 6 hours, 53 minutes ago

   Kudos to the Philadelphia Judge for turning her life around.  However, we need trustworthy judges on the bench.  Granted, the incident took place 24 years ago but she failed to disclose it on her bar application.  Bar applications test trustworthiness by asking about criminal history.  The objective is to see how forthcoming the applicant is.  I know people who had to report sealed JUVENILE convictions and I heard of one successful attorney who reported a fraud conviction that took place less than seven years before the attorney was admitted to the bar.  My point is, not reporting the conviction was a shady move on the judge’s part particularly since it was a crime involving dishonesty.  No doubt, she pissed the wrong people off and the non-disclosure was just the ammunition they needed.  I wish her the best of luck with her career and this should be a lesson to other would-be judges.  If you plan to hold public office, self-disclose at the first opportunity so your opponents and the press don’t have a chance to put their own spin on it.  This can be a very cut-throat profession and there’s always a nosey government employee somewhere browsing through your personal information.

2. Posted by Li Yuan - 1 month, 4 weeks, 4 hours, 9 minutes ago

   Judge no honor system. Judge no disbarred on this?  Judge must use own credit card number not other number.  This judge no good, even if she is smart.  Why is this judge being presecured, because she a woman?  Men who prosecute must want her job or her position.  Why no fat men get prosecuted for same using card?

3. Posted by Whoa - 1 month, 4 weeks, 3 hours, 36 minutes ago

   Huh?

4. Posted by 2L - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 hour, 6 minutes ago

   Again, brilliant!

   Note the intentional and suggestive misspelling of “presecured” when referring to the woman, but the ‘correct’ usage when referring to the man!

   Do you do live poetry readings, Li Wuan?  Is “Yi Yuan” your pen name?

5. Posted by Bryan314 - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 hour, 6 minutes ago

   to translate for Li Yuan:
   “The judge didn’t honor the system.  Shouldn’t she be disbarred for this?  The judge should have used her own social security number, not someone else’s.  This judge is dishonest, even if she is smart.  Why is she being persecuted?  Because she is a woman?  The men who prosecuted must have wanted her job or position.  Why aren’t fat men being prosecuted for doing the same thing?”

6. Posted by bryan314 - 1 month, 4 weeks, 51 minutes ago

   now that I’ve translated, here’s MY take on the matter.  Pure and simple: she lied on her bar application and was disciplined for it .  Therefore the bar was aware of this situation, presumably before she took the bench.

   However, she’s a judge.  She knows the law.  She knows that she was precluded from becoming a judge and should have refused the position when offered due to her ineligibility.

   On the other hand, just what does expunged mean if it doesn’t mean that it’s not supposed to count against the person?  Yes, she made a mistake when she was young, but she has overcome that mistake.

   post 4 2L:  you need to take some time to learn how to read the writings of someone who is sub-literate in English (ESL).  Li Yuan made a careful choice of persecute when talking about the judge and prosecute when talking about others.  The fact that she misspelled persecute is trivial.  Learn to read imperfect English, it’s an important skill.  You never know when a client or opponent won’t be perfect.

   Bryan

7. Posted by Ellen Barshevsky - 1 month, 3 weeks, 6 days, 21 hours, 43 minutes ago

   I think the judge is Afro-American, and this therefore smacks of racism and sexism Her name is Deborah Griffin; she was “married to a drug dealer” and lived in a Harlem housing project.  Harlem is in New York City.  I am SURE this would not have happened if she were not BLACK and a WOMAN.  Here’s someone who made good, and her record was stellar.  Now they dredge this up just to take down the Woman, and the Black woman at that.  How utterly unfair!  This type of thing must be stopped!

8. Posted by Rob - 1 month, 3 weeks, 6 days, 18 hours, 20 minutes ago

   I have to agree with Bryan314’s question of what does expunged mean?  I have never liked the concept because it is, as a practical matter, meaningless unless one lies.  I assume that “expunged” means something other than that her conviction was overturned or that she had been pardoned by New York.  Otherwise, one would think the Full Faith and Credit Clause would preempt state law. 

   On the other hand, I don’t think keeping convicted felons off the bench is that big a hurdle.  A large and diverse state like Pennsylvania should be able to find qualified judges who are not convicted felons from every ethnic and gender background.  I cannot believe that there are no other qualified African American women in Pennsylvania who would like to become judges and have not been convicted of felonies.

9. Posted by L York - 1 month, 3 weeks, 6 days, 25 minutes ago

   ALL judges in Pennsylvania are elected by the people.  They also have to run for re-election.  While the ABA provides its ratings, they probably don’t matter, especially in the eleciton of a judge at that level.  The story is rendered in a broader context by the local Philly press.  It is not uncommon for sitting judges to be found less than above board in their personal matters.  What is striking and unusual is that this judge was removed.  Most often, a judge is allowed to serve the remianing time in their term.  When the judge must run again, the bad press precludes re-election, or they choose to not run.