11/16/2014
Harrisburg District Judge Robert Jennings III squeezed financial kickbacks from constables for his election campaign, sat on citations filed against himself and associates and made inappropriate sexual comments to women, a state investigatory board said in charges filed Friday.
A conviction on the accusations lodged by the Judicial Conduct Boardcould cost Jennings the job he's held since 2004.
His fate will be determined when the case is heard by the state Court of Judicial Discipline, which has the power to reprimand, suspend or oust judges convicted of stepping outside the law and the ethical standards demanded of jurists.
An attempt to reach Jennings at his office for comment on the accusations wasn't successful. A staffer said he wasn't available.
His attorney, Lenora M. Smith said Jennings "is entitled to due process (of law) like anyone else. We intend to defend ourselves in this matter vigorously." She declined further comment, saying she still had to review the complaint against the judge.
Along with the filing of the ethics case, the conduct board is asking that Jennings be suspended, with or without pay, pending resolution of the charges.
According to court filings, the investigation that led to the charges was sought by former Dauphin County Court Administrator Carolyn Thompson. The filing of charges was approved by the conduct board during a Nov. 5 meeting.
In the charging documents, Jennings is accused of pressuring two constables to contribute more than $3,100 to his 2009 re-election campaign. He told the men to contribute 10 percent of their earnings for work received through his office, investigators claim.
They contend that one constable who refused to fork over money was cut off from work at Jennings' office on the judge's order and that another who didn't contribute saw his workload diminish.
When one of his employees confronted Jennings about the alleged kickback demand, the judge replied, "I wear the black robe. It's what I say. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't be here," according to the charging documents.
Investigators also accuse Jennings of violating court rules by not transferring traffic and other citations filed in his office against him, employees and associates to other district judge offices for disposition. He would at times personally ask the police officers who filed citations against him to withdraw them, according to the conduct board.
The board as well is charging that Jennings "commonly makes statements to women employed in his court that are inappropriate for a work environment."
Those comments include "sexually inappropriate" remarks to and about women who work for him or who come to the office on business, investigators claim.
Jennings' alleged actions violate a mandate that judges comport themselves in a manner that "promotes public confidence in the judiciary's integrity and impartiality," the conduct board contends and also violate the state Crimes Code, Pennsylvania's Ethics Act and the state constitution.
His supposed conduct "brought the judiciary into disrepute" and "frustrated the proper administration of justice," the board insists.
Jennings' court district serves the city's Seventh and 15th Wards and the second and fourth precincts of its 10th Ward.
source
Harrisburg District Justice Robert Jennings III in 2007. (Patriot-News/file)
Harrisburg District Judge Robert Jennings III squeezed financial kickbacks from constables for his election campaign, sat on citations filed against himself and associates and made inappropriate sexual comments to women, a state investigatory board said in charges filed Friday.
A conviction on the accusations lodged by the Judicial Conduct Boardcould cost Jennings the job he's held since 2004.
His fate will be determined when the case is heard by the state Court of Judicial Discipline, which has the power to reprimand, suspend or oust judges convicted of stepping outside the law and the ethical standards demanded of jurists.
An attempt to reach Jennings at his office for comment on the accusations wasn't successful. A staffer said he wasn't available.
His attorney, Lenora M. Smith said Jennings "is entitled to due process (of law) like anyone else. We intend to defend ourselves in this matter vigorously." She declined further comment, saying she still had to review the complaint against the judge.
Along with the filing of the ethics case, the conduct board is asking that Jennings be suspended, with or without pay, pending resolution of the charges.
According to court filings, the investigation that led to the charges was sought by former Dauphin County Court Administrator Carolyn Thompson. The filing of charges was approved by the conduct board during a Nov. 5 meeting.
In the charging documents, Jennings is accused of pressuring two constables to contribute more than $3,100 to his 2009 re-election campaign. He told the men to contribute 10 percent of their earnings for work received through his office, investigators claim.
They contend that one constable who refused to fork over money was cut off from work at Jennings' office on the judge's order and that another who didn't contribute saw his workload diminish.
When one of his employees confronted Jennings about the alleged kickback demand, the judge replied, "I wear the black robe. It's what I say. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't be here," according to the charging documents.
Investigators also accuse Jennings of violating court rules by not transferring traffic and other citations filed in his office against him, employees and associates to other district judge offices for disposition. He would at times personally ask the police officers who filed citations against him to withdraw them, according to the conduct board.
The board as well is charging that Jennings "commonly makes statements to women employed in his court that are inappropriate for a work environment."
Those comments include "sexually inappropriate" remarks to and about women who work for him or who come to the office on business, investigators claim.
Jennings' alleged actions violate a mandate that judges comport themselves in a manner that "promotes public confidence in the judiciary's integrity and impartiality," the conduct board contends and also violate the state Crimes Code, Pennsylvania's Ethics Act and the state constitution.
His supposed conduct "brought the judiciary into disrepute" and "frustrated the proper administration of justice," the board insists.
Jennings' court district serves the city's Seventh and 15th Wards and the second and fourth precincts of its 10th Ward.
source
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