Lawmakers join effort to impeach judge
Two representatives from Butler County have joined a Pennsylvania House representative's effort to impeach state Supreme Court Justice David Wecht over allegations of “misbehavior in office.”
On Tuesday, Rep. Frank Ryan, a Lebanon County Republican, introduced House Resolution 1044, which calls Wecht unable “to sit as a fair and impartial jurist.” The resolution cites statements Wecht made related to the 2018 case on redistricting and issues related to the upcoming election and Gov. Tom Wolf's pandemic shutdown orders.
The resolution has 25 co-sponsors, including state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, and Rep. James Marshall, R-14th. Both districts cover part of Butler County.The resolution argues that Wecht made “damning statements” criticizing gerrymandering long before the redistricting issue was brought before the state Supreme Court.“Despite this glaringly obvious lack of objectivity and impartiality, Justice Wecht participated in the deliberations” that led to the state's redistricting, according to the resolution.Metcalfe said he decided to co-sponsor the resolution because he believes Wecht is part of a Democratically-controlled state Supreme Court that is trying to “steal the election” with its recent “illegal” decision allowing mail-in ballots to be counted for three days after the election if they are postmarked by Election Day.The ruling also approved the use of drop boxes by counties and satellite election offices.“I believe he and his Democratic colleagues on the Supreme Court violated the law,” Metcalfe said. “Wecht is the one that has been outspoken about these issues.”Metcalfe noted that House Republicans made a similar attempt a few years ago and if this attempt to impeach Wecht didn't work, he and the other Republicans would keep trying.“It's not the court's constitutional duty to make these kinds of decision on how we're going to facilitate the election,” Metcalfe said. “If we don't provide for it, but he does, he's turning himself into a lawmaker, not a judge.”
But others warned against this kind of resolution.In a news release, David Schwager, Pennsylvania Bar Association president, said that “judges must be free to exercise their judicial discretion in reaching decisions in cases, including difficult and politically charged cases.”Schwager characterized Wentz as “a jurist of the highest integrity whose reputation for fairness is beyond reproach” and said that the organization believes that “our legislators will keep the public trust in our system of government, the independence of our judiciary and the rule of law, even though they may disagree with decisions of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.”And state Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Saylor said in a statement that an “independent judiciary is a cornerstone of our constitutional democracy. Threats of removal directed against judges based upon their decisions in selected cases are an affront to judicial independence.”
