HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania ethics board said Thursday it wants to drop a key charge against a newly resigned Supreme Court justice in a move that could help him keep his pension despite allegations he violated rules by exchanging raunchy and inappropriate e-mails.

The Judicial Conduct Board filed a motion to withdraw one of four ethics charges against Michael Eakin, a count that said he engaged in conduct that has brought disrepute upon the judiciary, potentially triggering pension forfeiture.

Eakin stepped down Tuesday, three months after he was put on paid suspension to await an ethics trial later this month.

The board has said Eakin sent or responded to e-mails that included a satirical video about a busload of “sluts” crashing, a joke about a domestic violence victim being told by a doctor to keep “her mouth shut” and a joke about Tiger Woods that referred to his African-American and Asian background.

Eakin also traded e-mails with friends about a golfing trip to South Carolina in which they discussed visiting a strip club. Eakin enthusiastically volunteered to them he had 50 $1 bills ready for the outing.

Eakin’s pension depends on a number of factors, but could be about 70 percent of his $201,000 highest salary, or a yearly benefit of about $140,000. He’s also eligible to withdraw about $508,000 in what are termed member contributions and interest, though it could lower the amount of his pension checks.

The motion did not mention Eakin’s pension explicitly, but the state constitution says judges can lose their pensions if they are barred from holding judicial office for conduct that “brings the judicial office into disrepute.”

The board included an e-mail it received Wednesday from Eakin’s lawyer that said the former justice will not seek senior judge status or ever be a candidate for appointment or election to any state judicial office.

Messages left for the Judicial Conduct Board and Eakin’s lawyer were not immediately returned.

Eakin also filed a broad waiver of his rights Thursday, including the right to be present at future court proceedings. It is not clear how or when the Court of Judicial Discipline will respond to the set of filings.

Eakin, 67, had been on the state’s highest court since 2002. Before that, he served on an intermediate appellate court and was the elected Republican district attorney in Cumberland County.