Justice lashes out at GOP state senators

HARRISBURG - State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille has toughened his criticism of Senate Republicans for not acting on four interim appointments to state appellate courts, and dismissed their arguments about diversity as "misplaced."

"There is a major impact upon this court system and consequently on the ability of our citizens to seek fair and effective justice . . . at the appellate level," Castille said in a letter to Senate Republican leaders.

Castille reentered the judicial fray last week for the second time during the nearly three-month-long stalemate between Gov. Rendell and Senate Republicans.

The Senate confirms court nominees, and the chamber's GOP leaders want the governor to withdraw his candidates and consult with them on a new list of names.

In a recent letter, they told Rendell that he ignored their candidates and missed an opportunity to address diversity issues in the top courts when he nominated four white men from the two largest cities. The nominees would serve through 2009 and have agreed not to seek retention.

In response, Castille fired off a letter to Senate Republicans late last week dismissing the diversity argument and saying the Senate's inaction was creating problems.

"We're not looking for balance on the courts; we're looking for people who can handle the job," Castille said in an interview yesterday. Castille, a Republican, added that he had never seen such a long delay in filling crucial posts in his 14 years on the high court.

Castille detailed problems the courts are facing, including an increased workload for judges and the possibility of 3-3 decisions on the high court, which has one empty seat.

Castille said the issue of split decisions had "arisen" this year.

A spokesman for Rendell accused the Senate of failing to discharge its duties by holding up the vote and called the diversity issue a "thinly veiled excuse for refusing to consider the nominees."

"The governor believes that it is his responsibility to nominate and the Senate to vote on those nominees," said Rendell's spokesman, Chuck Ardo. "Playing partisan political games does not fill vacancies."

Castille demurred when asked if he thought politics was involved: "I want to put that aside and think about the well-being of the court, the well-being of the litigants, and the well-being of citizens."

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) said the governor "unilaterally" selected nominees rather than following a tradition of bipartisan cooperation.

"The most compelling argument against the governor's action is that it ignores past bipartisan collaboration," Pileggi said. "It's the wrong approach."

Pileggi argued that the delay was not a partisan tactic, noting that the governor nominated two Republicans.

Pileggi said that he expected the Senate would decide on the nominees sometime in May, but that it has until June 11 to vote under the state constitutional deadline.

In the letter, Castille told Senate leaders they were "misplaced" in their attempt to seek diverse candidates for short-term appointments.

That issue is "more appropriately addressed when selecting candidates for elections," he said.

"An appellate court judge, or justice, does not represent any particular geographic area, any race, any nationality or any gender," Castille added.

Pileggi argued that these interim positions are ordinarily elected positions and that diversity should be a consideration.

Currently, five members of the Supreme Court are white males, and the other is a white woman. Two are from central Pennsylvania.

In February, Rendell submitted to the Senate his nominees to fill one seat on the Supreme Court, two seats on the Superior Court, and one seat on Commonwealth Court.

Early on, Senate Republican leaders expressed reservations about Supreme Court nominee James Gardner Colins, a Commonwealth Court judge who is a Democrat and a longtime friend of Rendell's.

They said they had concerns about his objectivity in Commonwealth Court cases involving the Rendell administration and said he would have to recuse himself from a number of his Supreme Court cases.

Castille defended Colins, saying there were only eight cases under the Supreme Court's review in which Colins participated as a member of a Commonwealth Court panel.

The other nominees are former interim Supreme Court Justice James J. Fitzgerald 3d, who served on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and Philadelphia lawyer Robert C. Daniels to fill openings on the Superior Court, and Duquesne University law professor Ken Gormley to serve on Commonwealth Court.

Colins and Gormley are Democrats, and Fitzgerald and Daniels are Republicans. Three are from Philadelphia, and Gormley is from Pittsburgh.