Larsen, In re

Citation717 A.2d 39
Decision Date04 August 1998
Docket NumberNo. 4,4
PartiesIn re Rolf LARSEN, Former Justice of the Supreme Court. JD 94.
CourtCourt of Judicial Discipline of Pennsylvania

Before MAGARO, MESSA, SYLVESTER, SWEENEY, PANELLA and BYER, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

PANELLA, Judge.

Before the Court is the Amended Omnibus Pretrial Motion of the Respondent, former Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen. An en banc argument was held on May 27, 1998.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case has a complicated and beleaguered history. Proceedings against the Respondent were instituted by the Judicial Conduct Board on March 10, 1994, when the Board filed an Application with this Court which requested that we suspend the Respondent with pay. 1 The Application, which was docketed to Number 3 JD 94, was primarily based on the filing of a criminal information, which included 27 felony counts, against Respondent. 2 A hearing was initially held on March 24, 1994, after which we denied the Application without opinion.

On April 9, 1994, the Respondent was found guilty, in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, at No. CC9313844, of two counts of Criminal Conspiracy, 18 Pa.Cons.Stat. § 903; he was acquitted of 12 counts under Section 13 of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, 35 Pa.Stat. § 780-113(a)(12). The Board then filed a second Application, on April 18, 1994, which requested suspension without pay based on the information and jury verdict. A hearing was held on May 25, 1994. On June 3, 1994, we granted the petition and the Respondent was suspended without pay effective immediately. In re Justice Rolf Larsen, 655 A.2d 239 (Pa.Ct.Jud.Disc.1994).

Following Larsen's conviction, the Board filed a Complaint with this Court on June 5, 1994, docketed to Number 4 JD 94. The Complaint consists of 27 Counts divided into six separate parts. Part A requests disciplinary action because of the aforesaid felony convictions (Counts 1-5); Part B alleges the underlying facts which support the convictions, i.e., that Respondent conspired with others to unlawfully obtain a Schedule IV controlled substance (Counts 6-9); Part C contains charges that Larsen made knowingly false material statements before a Grand Jury (Counts 10-14); Part D requests disciplinary action because the Respondent filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court documents containing averments which were knowingly false or made with reckless disregard for the truth (Counts 15-18); Part E charges the Respondent with failing to recuse in matters involving potential claims of bias and partiality because of his prior relationship, both personal and professional, with an attorney (Counts 19-23); and Part F alleges that Larsen had ex-parte conversations with an attorney regarding two petitions for allowance of appeal pending before the Supreme Court (Counts 24-27).

On May 24, 1994, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives adopted seven articles of impeachment against Larsen, accusing him of "misbehavior in office" pursuant to Article 6, § 4 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The articles of impeachment were exhibited to On June 13, 1994, the Respondent was sentenced by the Honorable W. Terrence O'Brien to one year probation for each of the two counts of Criminal Conspiracy. In addition, Judge O'Brien, upon finding that Larsen had committed an "infamous crime" under Article 2, § 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution 3, entered an Order removing the Respondent from office. 4

the Senate on June 6, 1994, and were incorporated in the Senate's Writ of Impeachment Summons. Larsen sought a preliminary injunction to enjoin the Senate and Senate impeachment trial committee from conducting the impeachment trial. The application was denied by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Larsen v. Senate of Pennsylvania, et al., 166 Pa.Commw. 472, 646 A.2d 694 (1994).

The sentence was vacated and remanded by the Superior Court on August 5, 1996, Commonwealth v. Larsen, 452 Pa.Super. 508, 682 A.2d 783 (1996), alloc. denied, 547 Pa. 752, 692 A.2d 564 (1997), which held the Respondent "should have been sentenced on only a single charge of criminal conspiracy." 452 Pa.Super. at 537, 682 A.2d at 798. On May 27, 1997, Judge O'Brien resentenced the Respondent to similar conditions including the removal from office.

On July 5, 1994, the Respondent filed an Omnibus Pretrial Motion in this case, requesting that the Complaint be dismissed for several reasons. In Section I, the Respondent argued that this Court lacked jurisdiction because he was no longer a judicial officer by way of Judge O'Brien's removal Order of June 13, 1994 in the criminal case. In Section II, Larsen contended that he was exposed to "triple jeopardy" because of the concurrent criminal case, pending Senate impeachment trial, and judicial disciplinary proceeding; therefore, Larsen requested the Complaint be "dismissed on triple jeopardy grounds." Section III challenged the sufficiency of the violations brought by the Board, Section IV was for discovery, and Section V included a request for defense attorney fees. Section VI requested recusal of any Court members who were closely affiliated with any witnesses intended to be called by the Board.

By way of an Order issued on July 25, 1994, per the Honorable Joseph F. McCloskey, Conference Judge, we denied Section III of the motion; denied Section IV without prejudice to file specific discovery requests; denied Section V; and denied Section VI, without prejudice because it was premature. The Court ordered the parties to file briefs with respect to Sections I and II.

On October 4, 1994, following an impeachment trial before the Senate, the Respondent was found guilty of Article II of the Articles of Impeachment. As a result, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 163, which again removed the Respondent from office and declared him ineligible to hold public office in the future. The Resolution, in pertinent part, states:

Adjudging Respondent Rolf Larsen removed from office and disqualified from holding any public office.

WHEREAS, the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania having tried Rolf Larsen, Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania upon seven Articles of Impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives, and two-thirds of the Senators present having found him guilty of the charges contained in Article II: It is therefore,

ORDERED

And now, THIS 4TH DAY OF October, 1994, the Senate of Pennsylvania does hereby order and decree and it is hereby adjudged that the Respondent Rolf Larsen, Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania be, and he is hereby, removed from office; and that he be and is hereby forever disqualified to hold any office of trust or profit under this Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and be it further RESOLVED, That the President and Secretary be directed to communicate to the Governor of this Commonwealth, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Treasurer of the Commonwealth, the House of Representatives, Respondent Rolf Larsen and the Secretary of the Commonwealth the foregoing order and judgment of the Senate and transmit a certified copy of the same to each.

The Respondent filed an Amended Omnibus Pretrial Motion in this case on November 10, 1994. A reply was filed by the Board on November 23, 1994. Briefs were filed by the Respondent and the Board on November 30, 1994 and December 12, 1994, respectively. In accordance with an Order issued on December 16, 1994, per Judge McCloskey, the Court scheduled argument on the following issues:

1) Respondent's Motion to Dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and former jeopardy;

2) Respondent's Motion to Limit this Court's jurisdiction to affect the Respondent's license to practice law in this Commonwealth; and

3) Respondent's assertion that this case is moot.

The Court did not address the amended motion because the parties presented a joint motion for continuance on January 25, 1995. Based upon the joint motion, this Court, with Burns, Donohue and Johnson dissenting, continued all matters pending disposition of the direct appeal in the criminal case which was pending before the Superior Court. Additionally, the Court ordered that the continuance was to be automatically vacated in the event that Larsen filed notice with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts to reinstate the active status of his law license. The Court's interim Order of suspension without pay was continued.

In September 1995, Larsen filed a Complaint, at No. 95-CV-01540 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, against the Senate, as well as the Supreme Court and this Court, among others, requesting, inter alia, that his impeachment be set aside and all disciplinary action be stayed. The case is currently in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, at Nos. 97-7153, 97-7296 and 97-7451, on review of orders of the District Court granting and denying numerous motions to dismiss.

On March 25, 1998, the Board filed a motion to dispose of the amended omnibus pretrial motion. Basically, the Board contended that the original reason for the general continuance, i.e., awaiting disposition of the pending appeal of Larsen's criminal conviction, no longer existed in light of the exhaustion of direct appeals. Larsen's answer to the motion was filed on April 13, 1998. In the answer, Larsen denied that the criminal conviction is final, "(t)o the contrary, Respondent is preparing and intends to file before July 1998 a petition under the Pennsylvania Post-Conviction Relief Act in the Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania." Thus, Larsen argued that the lack of finality of the underlying criminal conviction continues to exist in light of the "soon-to-be filed PCRA petition." Respondent's Answer, paras. 2 & 3. On April 22, 1998, we ordered that the stay entered on June 24, 1994 was vacated, and the parties were granted an opportunity to supplement their briefs in relation to the Amended...

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    • United States
    • Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline
    • December 13, 2012
    ...proceedings. Id. at 496 n. 2, 812 A.2d at 1167 n. 2.See, also, In re Sullivan, 805 A.2d 71 (Pa.Ct.Jud.Disc.2002); In re Larsen, 717 A.2d 39, 43 (Pa.Ct.Jud.Disc.1998); In re Cicchetti, 697 A.2d 297, 301, n. 1 (Pa.Ct.Jud.Disc.1997); In re Chesna, 659 A.2d 1091 (Pa.Ct.Jud.Disc.1995); Matter of......
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