Porngate justice's replacement approved
A Republican judge from central Pennsylvania will fill the vacancy on the state Supreme Court left by Justice J. Michael Eakin, who resigned in March following the fallout from a pornography scandal.
A Republican judge from central Pennsylvania will fill the vacancy on the state Supreme Court left by Justice J. Michael Eakin, who resigned in March following the fallout from a pornography scandal.
The appointment of Superior Court Judge Sallie Mundy, who was among a handful of judges nominated by Gov. Wolf this month, was approved Monday by the Senate.
Eakin resigned amid allegations that he violated the sanctity of his office by exchanging raunchy emails with friends and colleagues. Democrat Seamus McCaffery resigned in 2014 amid similar allegations.
Mundy, 53, of Tioga County, had served on Superior Court since 2010. Mundy, who will be the second Republican on the court, will hold the seat until the next 10-year term begins in January 2018. Elections will be held in 2017.
Wolf previously said Mundy could seek the 10-year term on the Supreme Court, though interim judges typically do not run after their term expires.
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Lillian Harris Ransom, as well as lawyers Carl Solano and Geoffrey Moulton, was confirmed to Superior Court. Ransom served in Philadelphia Family Court from 1996 to 2002; Solano chairs appellate practice at the Philadelphia law firm Schnader Attorneys at Law; and Moulton reported to the state Attorney General's Office on the handling of the Jerry Sandusky investigation.
Also, Commonwealth Court gained two new members: Julia Hearthway, former state secretary of labor and industry, and Joseph Cosgrove of Luzerne County.
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