The head of the state’s high court says a review hasn’t wrapped up on any inappropriate emails that may have been exchanged by members of the judiciary.
Chief Justice Ron Castille said Monday that the Judicial Conduct Board is still looking for answers in regard to a batch of 4,000 sexually explicit emails 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 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 Attorney General Kathleen Kane said they exchanged similar emails.
Kane recovered the documents during an investigation into the Jerry Sandusky prosecution.
Thirty-one current employees in the AG’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.
