Casino-Free Philadelphia requests investigation of Chief Justice Castille

Today Casino-Free Philadelphia, along with 15 citizens, filed a request with the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board seeking in investigation into the conduct of Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille. We believe Justice Castille acted inappropriately and unethically by making public statements about the federal lawsuit recently filed by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania against former Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy. In its suit, the League asserts that Justice Cappy engaged in secret negotiations with the legislature about the need for a pay raise and in that context raised the court's pending review of the constitutionality of Act 71, Pennsylvania's gambling law.

Justice Castille called the League's suit "ludicrous in every respect" and he warned the League and its attorney that they might face sanctions and discipline. In today's request for an investigation, Casino-Free Philadelphia alleges that these comments violate the Canons of Judicial Conduct, which prohibit a judge from making public comments about a pending case.

Justice Castille's comments were reported in media all over Pennsylvania. Many of those news articles are referenced in the request for investigation. Of particular note is a May 25, 2008 editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer that stated, "Such blatant intimidation only fuels concern about how the high court has conducted itself in the state's legalization of casinos process." Casino-Free Philadelphia agrees with that sentiment.

According to Jethro Heiko of Casino-Free, "SugarHouse has been in front of the Supreme Court a total of eleven times and they've walked away with a win each and every time." Moreover, SugarHouse said that they needed a ruling on their riparian rights case before they bought the property; yet a few weeks ago SugarHouse bought the property even though the Court hadn't ruled yet. Does SugarHouse know something about how its case might turn out? "Our court is continually under a cloud of concern and Justice Castille's comments only dragged the court's reputation down further. We deserve to have faith in our courts," Heiko said.

Tyranny is when our three branches of government lose their willingness to act as checks and balances. As the Supreme Court gets ready to issue its ruling on SugarHouse's riparian rights case, Casino-Free Philadelphia is engaged in a Tea Party campaign to symbolize our desire to be free of tyranny. For a donation of $1 or more, Casino-Free will send a real tea bag to the Supreme Court with the donor's name on it. So far, Casino-Free has raised over $900 in its Tea Party Campaign.

A copy of our filed complaint is available by clicking here.