Pa. Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin Suspended for Emails

The Court of Judicial Discipline said it was "deeply and profoundly troubled" by the views expressed by J. Michael Eakin in emails it says may have impacted his rulings.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin arrives for a hearing Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, at the Northampton County courthouse in Easton, Pa. to determine whether he should be suspended while a judicial ethics court decides if his email practices warrant discipline.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Michael Eakin arrives for a hearing Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, at the Northampton County courthouse in Easton, Pa. to determine whether he should be suspended while a judicial ethics court decides if his email practices warrant discipline.

The Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline today today suspended Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin from his judicial and administrative duties for his role in the “porngate” email scandal. Eakin is suspended until further notice, but he keeps his pay and medical benefits.

The order said that the emails between Deputy Attorney General Jeffery Baxter and Eakin “are extremely inappropriate and offensive.” The court noted they included “lewd references to judicial employees.” Eakin also notably said he needed to visit a strip club to resolve his “titty-deficit.”

“Because of the aforesaid actions of [Eakin], the totality of the circumstances has tainted the Pennsylvania judiciary in the eyes of the public,” the Court of Judicial Discipline wrote in its order, “There should be no doubt that this Court is deeply and profoundly troubled by even a remote possibility that the patently discriminatory and offensive views and attitudes expressed in the emails underlying this case may have impacted Justice Eakin’s judicial work.”

The Inquirer revealed some of his emails earlier this month, which included discussions with a prosecutor friend and a lower-court judge, including this exchange:

“I’ll take care of her rooming needs,” Eakin wrote of one of his aides.

His friend the prosecutor said of the other Eakin aide, “I’ll certainly take care of her one night.”

The next step is a pre-trial conference on January 21st in Harrisburg.

Michael Eakin suspension order

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