Justice J. Michael Eakin is apologizing for sending and receiving emails that the attorney general eventually turned over to investigators last month. Kane recently provided the emails from Eakin’s private Yahoo account in the name of “John Smith” to the state Supreme Court and several state ethics agencies, suggesting the content violates judicial conduct rules. Eakin had sent or received messages offensive to women, black people, and LGBT people.
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Ouestions have raised among fellow justices and by the Judicial Conduct Board about how much was known about the details of Eakin’s participation in the email circle last year.
The examination, Ardo said, is supposed settle a dispute about the e-mails: “who looked at them and when”. That report said Eakin had only one pornographic email, which he received but never opened or forwarded.
Last week, Robert Graci, chief counsel of the Judicial Conduct Board, said for his original review he did not have all of the emails.
In the final sentence of his brief statement, Eakin said, “I do not offer this as an excuse”, and again said he would cooperate with reviews by the high court and the Judicial Conduct Board. The court and JCB now say they were not provided all of the questionable emails during their initial probes.
Eakin, who is four years away from the court’s mandatory retirement age of 70, is a Republican former district attorney from Cumberland County.
A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice is apologizing for insensitive personal emails while criticizing the people responsible for disclosing them. McCaffery retired soon thereafter, amid allegations from Eakin that he had threatened Eakin about the latter’s email.
In addition to providing electronic versions of the emails previous year, Kane said Wednesday that a special agent watched while Judicial Conduct Board officials reviewed some Eakin emails with “numerous photos and videos that contain nudity”.
“Members of the Supreme Court are disturbed by the content of the emails, as reported by the media”, the state Supreme Court said in the statement.
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McCaffery resigned last October27, a week after he was suspended, and the board dismissed the matter.
