Pa. Supreme Court Upholds Its Own Suspension of Allegedly 'Nasty, Rude, Erratic, Strange' Judge
Rejecting a Pennsylvania judge’s argument that the state’s highest court lacked the power to suspend her with pay prior to a hearing on the merits of its case against her, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday denied a request to return Allentown District Judge Maryesther Merlo to the bench, the Morning Call reported.
The supreme court suspended Merlo in December, citing “an immediate need to protect and preserve the [court system’s] integrity,” an earlier Morning Call article said.
Its action followed a Nov. 4 complaint by the Judicial Conduct Board, which described Merlo and her behavior as “nasty, rude, erratic, strange, bizarre, irrational, unpredictable, yelling, demeaning, babbling, rambling, nutty and crazy” and said her absenteeism was also an issue.
Merlo has denied that she did anything wrong, saying in a response that she “passionate” but didn’t act improperly and, while she took some time off to campaign last year for re-election, she was never excessively late or absent from her job as a judge.
In its opinion yesterday, the supreme court noted that its order wasn’t intended as punishment and did not strip Merlo of her $80,000-a-year salary. “Rather, our order was entered to ensure the smooth functioning of the administration of justice in the Commonwealth during the pendency of the misconduct charges,” the court writes.
