Glancey, Matter of
| Decision Date | 27 May 1988 |
| Citation | 518 Pa. 276,542 A.2d 1350 |
| Parties | . Supreme Court of Pennsylvania |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
John Rogers Carroll, Philadelphia, for respondent.
Robert Keuch, Executive Director, Harrisburg, for J.I.R.B.
Before NIX, C.J., and FLAHERTY, McDERMOTT, ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS and STOUT, JJ.
This proceeding arises out of the alleged violations committed by Judge Joseph R. Glancey of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, Respondent herein, in his association with the Roofers' Union Local 30-30B. It is thus controlled to a large extent by our recent decision in In the Matter of Cunningham, 517 Pa. 417, 538 A.2d 473 (1988), which resulted in the removal or suspension of eight of Respondent's colleagues. The proceeding likewise presents us with an issue concerning this Court's jurisdiction not discussed in that opinion, occasioned by Judge Glancey's recent resignation from the bench, and with challenges to the vitality of the Cunningham decision. Each will be addressed in turn.
Judge Glancey's conduct in this matter brought him before this tribunal once before. In the Matter of Glancey, 515 Pa. 201, 527 A.2d 997 (1987), presented us with the issue of whether the constitutional privilege against self-incrimination may be validly asserted by a judge in Pennsylvania, to avoid making financial disclosures mandated by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Order No. 47, promulgated April 13, 1984. 1 Judge Glancey had filed a Statement of Financial Interest for 1985 with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts ("AOPC") wherein he responded to Question 11, regarding gifts received during the year having a value of $200.00 or more, with the statement "Response respectfully declined at this time on grounds of constitutional privilege." AOPC referred the matter to the Judicial Inquiry and Review Board ("J.I.R.B." or "Board"), 2 which, following a hearing, concluded that Respondent knowingly and willfully failed to answer Question 11 in violation of Article V, section 17(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution; Canons 1 and 2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct;[518 Pa. 279] and 42 Pa.C.S. § 3302 ("Judges should not engage in any activity prohibited by ... any other provision of law and shall not violate any canon of ethics prescribed by general rule."). The Board recommended removal of Respondent. Although we agreed with the Board's findings as to misconduct, we nevertheless declined to order removal because of a perceived lack of prior warning to Respondent that his conduct was prohibited. Accordingly, we allowed Respondent thirty (30) days to provide the required information, and stated that should he comply, the charges would be dismissed.
On July 2, 1987, Judge Glancey filed a letter with the AOPC amending his Statement of Financial Interest for 1985. Therein he responded to Question 11 in the following manner:
Source of Gift: Thomas Brown of Local 30, Roofers.
Address of Source of Gift: Philadelphia, PA.
Value of Gift: $300.00
Reason for Gift: Christmas Gift.
While the J.I.R.B. proceeded against Respondent for his initial failure to respond adequately to Question 11, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was conducting an investigation into racketeering activities involving the Roofers Union Local 30-30B. On October 23, 1986, a federal grand jury sitting in Philadelphia returned a sixty-one count indictment charging nineteen individuals with, inter alia, using kickback money from the Union's Prepaid Legal Services Plan to make cash payments to public officials, including a number of judges. Pursuant to the public disclosure of this activity, the Board initiated the instant inquiry. The J.I.R.B. requested and received access to information developed in the federal investigation, including evidence of an electronic surveillance of the Roofers Union hall and testimony elicited before the federal grand jury.
By letter dated December 12, 1986, Judge Glancey was formally charged with violations of Canons 1, 2, and 5C(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct; Article V, section 17(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution; and Supreme Court Order No. 47. The charges alleged an acceptance of cash from a representative of the Roofers Union in the years 1983, 1984 and 1985, as well as a failure to report said payments for the years 1984 and 1985. 3 The Board amended these allegations by letter dated January 28, 1987, wherein it further alleged that Respondent provided false information to FBI agents investigating the payments, and that Respondent invoked his privilege against self-incrimination in a subsequent grand jury investigation. Respondent either denied or pleaded his Fifth Amendment privilege to these allegations.
The Board pursuant to J.I.R.B. Rule 24 petitioned this Court requesting the suspension of Respondent with pay during the pendency of the proceedings before the Board. 4 An order granting the prayer of the petition was entered on January 30, 1987. A hearing was held on April 13, 1987, before a Hearing Committee comprised of three members of the Board. Based upon evidence elicited at this hearing, the Board found insufficient clear and convincing evidence to support a finding that Respondent received a gift from the Union in 1983 or 1984. The Board also concluded that as a matter of law Respondent's invocation of his privilege against self-incrimination before the grand jury could not support an imposition of discipline, and thus dismissed the charges related to this conduct.
With regard to the remaining charges, the Board made the following factual determinations. Respondent was elected to the Philadelphia Municipal Court for a six-year term commencing in January 1982. Thomas Brown, a former employee of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, distributed Christmas envelopes to judges of that court and the Philadelphia Municipal Court on behalf of the Roofers Union in the years 1983, 1984 and 1985. Brown testified during a videotaped deposition that, in December of 1985, he delivered two identical envelopes, each identified by three hash marks, to Respondent's chambers, placed them on the desk where respondent was working at the time, and said to Respondent, "Merry Christmas from the Union." William Markert, special assistant to Judge Glancey, informed the federal grand jury 5 that the judge had told him, also in December 1985, that there was an envelope for him from "Browny" on the judge's desk. That envelope contained $300. Despite this contact between Brown and Judge Glancey, the latter told FBI agents, during an official investigation of the matter, that he had not seen Brown for a year prior to December 1985, and that he had never received any cash from Brown or officials of the Union. He further told agents that acceptance of cash under these circumstances would be a "very improper thing" for a judge to do and that he would not do anything like that.
Based upon these facts, the Board found that Respondent had accepted $300 cash from the Roofers Union in 1985, and that he deliberately misinformed federal investigators upon denying receipt of cash from the Union. The Board concluded that this conduct warranted discipline under the constitutional and Code provisions charged, and a majority of the Board (with three members dissenting) recommended the removal of Respondent from his judicial office.
Two petitions were thereupon filed in this Court: one by the Board recommending removal, and a second by Respondent seeking to set aside the report and recommendation of the Board. Subsequent to the filing of these petitions but prior to oral argument, this Court filed its decision in In the Matter of Cunningham, supra, removing or suspending eight judges for improper conduct involving the Roofers Union. Thereafter Judge Glancey tendered his resignation to the Governor on March 16, 1988, effective March 31, 1988. The Respondent then filed a Motion for Summary Disposition of this matter acknowledging his resignation and consenting to the entry of an order declaring him ineligible for election to judicial office in the future. The basis for the request was that the intervening resignation rendered the pending charges moot. We reserved judgment on the motion until the time of oral argument. The matter was argued before this Court on April 13, 1988, and the issues are now ripe for disposition.
As noted, subsequent to the filing of the petitions to this Court, Judge Glancey has sought to direct his own fate by resigning his judicial commission and assenting to an order permanently barring him from judicial service. The issue thus presented is whether that action rendered moot further consideration of the allegations of misconduct during his term as a judicial officer.
It is axiomatic that a court should not address itself to moot questions and instead should only concern itself with real controversies, except in certain exceptional circumstances. See In re Gross, 476 Pa. 203, 382 A.2d 116 (1978); Sweeney v. Tucker, 473 Pa. 493, 375 A.2d 698 (1977); Colonial Gardens Nursing Home, Inc. v. Bachman, 473 Pa. 56, 373 A.2d 748 (1977). Where other issues remain for adjudication, however, the case is not moot and the court must accept its responsibility to decide the matter. See, e.g., Sweeney v. Tucker, supra. This Court was recently faced with a factual scenario parallel to this case in In the Matter of J.I.R.B. v. Snyder, 514 Pa. 142, 523 A.2d 294 (1987). The respondent in that case had been charged with misconduct in connection with a trial over which he presided. Prior to this Court's action on the pending charges, Judge Snyder failed in his bid for retention and was thus removed from office by the electorate. Recognizing that this left the question of Respondent's future ability to seek judicial office unresolved, we proceeded to determine whether a permanent bar was warranted. Notwithstanding Judge...
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