Kane had already announced her decision not to seek re-election this fall.
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Kane had resisted earlier calls to step down, saying resignation would be an admission of guilt “and I’m not guilty”.
“With the nature of the charges against her, it would be totally inappropriate for her to remain in office”, he said.
Most lawmakers questioned declined to say whether Kane’s conviction should land her behind bars.
Kane, 50, faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison when she is sentenced October 24, although it’s highly unlikely she will receive punishment that severe since she has no prior criminal record.
“That would be for a judge to decide”. She could potentially stay in office until January 17, when a new attorney general selected by voters in November will be sworn in. Pat Stefano, R-Fayette County.
But the judge would not allow Kane’s lawyers to raise the email scandal in court as the motive to prosecute her.
“Most definitely. She should do time”, he said. Kane’s lawyers also complained that the judge had not allowed them to argue in court that the investigation had been propelled by former state prosecutors anxious that Kane would reveal their raunchy, pornographic interoffice emails she had discovered on the office’s services. That law was eventually overturned by a federal court. “If there is a Mr. Hyde to her Dr. Jekyl, I have not seen it”.
But Babnew said Tuesday’s announcement was belated. I took the same position six months ago, when the consequences of those charges compelled the Senate to consider whether an attorney general could function without an active law license.
Kane’s conviction and subsequent resignation represents a dramatic turn of fortune for the 50-year-old former county prosecutor who was the first woman and first Democrat elected as attorney general in Pennsylvania. Castor added whoever becomes the next AG, however, has a lot to overcome, including an incredible learning curve and restoring public faith in the office.
In one 2014 case, for example, Demchick-Alloy got notice for sentencing a white man who waved a noose at a black man to visit the African-American Museum in Philadelphia as part of his punishment for disorderly conduct. However, state court Judge William Carpenter denied requests to release the emails at the time. Defense lawyer Gerald Shargel called the verdict a “crushing blow” and promised an appeal.
“It seemed that we had somebody who felt that she was above the law and that’s not the case because no one is above the law”. They accurately portrayed Kane as a woman scorned, furious over an unflattering newspaper article she believed had been leaked by a former prosecutor to make her look bad. The jury began deliberations Monday afternoon.
After initially appearing to want to fight for her name to be cleared, Kane released a statement today that she would resign, effective Wednesday.
The same prosecutors involved in the Philadelphia investigations oversaw the Sandusky case.
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“We should remember that the real victims of these scandals are the people of Pennsylvania who’ve been left behind by a government that often isn’t working for them”, said Montgomery County Commissioner Chairman Josh Shapiro.
