The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently announced that two former Philadelphia judges will have their law licenses suspended for just over a year.
In December 2016, judges Angeles Roca and Dawn Segal were removed from the bench for engaging in improper, ex-parte communications with Joseph Waters, who was a member of the Philadelphia Municipal Court before being convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for federal corruption charges.
According to the Court of Judicial Discipline’s records, Judge Roca approached Waters to discuss a $5,000 city tax proceeding against her son, which Judge Segal was hearing in municipal court. On Judge Roca’s behalf, Waters asked Judge Segal to give Judge Roca’s son preferential treatment.
Judge Segal then granted a motion to reconsider whether to strike the $5,000 judgement entered against Judge Roca’s son. The ruling then paved the way for a settlement between Judge Roca’s son and the city in which he paid nearly $500 in back taxes.
Judge Segal maintained that, irrespective of Waters’ interference, she would have found in favor of Judge Roca’s son due to the merits of the case. The Court of Judicial Discipline, however, found that Judge Segal and Waters also had other, ex-parte communications regarding numerous cases which Judge Segal was hearing.
The judges were found to have violated Canon 2B of the former Code of Judicial Conduct which provides, in relevant part, that “judges should not convey or knowingly permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge.” Additionally, they violated Canons 3A(4), 3B(3) and 3C(1) of the former Code of Judicial Conduct. Canon 3A(4) provides in relevant part that “judges…except as authorized by law must not consider ex parte communications concerning a pending matter.”
Read the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s order here.
