Pa. review of lewd email exchange continues

The head of Pennsylvania’s high court said a review of any inappropriate e-mails that may have been exchanged by members of the judiciary is continuing.

 

Chief Justice Ron Castille said Monday that the Judicial Conduct Board is still looking for answers concerning 4,000 sexually explicit e-mails identified by the Office of Attorney General as involving some jurists.

“We don’t know what else is in this system, there, so I’m interested in looking at it, and we’ll take the appropriate action,” said Castille. “Either, we’ll take it ourselves or we’ll take it to the Judicial Conduct Board.”

Renee Martin, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Kathleen Kane, said the office of attorney general is in communication with the Judicial Conduct Board. The board does not confirm ongoing reviews.

“It’s a possibility we could go to any judicial chambers — any chambers in the system — and look at what was sent through there,” Castille said. “Because basically the state — the commonwealth — owns all of that.”

Castille reviewed some of the emails flagged by the OAG in October and “exonerated” all but one justice on the Supreme Court, Seamus McCaffery, who later resigned.

Four other current or former state officials have stepped down since Kane said they exchanged similar e-mails.

Kane recovered the documents during an investigation into the Jerry Sandusky prosecution.

Thirty-one current employees in Kane’s office have been disciplined for exchanging such e-mails, according to an OAG announcement last week. Six of them have been fired, or are in the process of being fired.