[J-49A-2017] [MO: Saylor, C.J.]

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

EASTERN DISTRICT

IN RE: ANGELES ROCA FIRST 

JUDICIAL DISTRICT PHILADELPHIA 

COUNTY

APPEAL OF: ANGELES ROCA

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No. 42 EAP 2016

Appeal from the Order dated December 

16, 2016 of the Court of Judicial 

Discipline at No. 14 JD 2015.

ARGUED: May 9, 2017

CONCURRING OPINION

JUSTICE BAER DECIDED: November 22, 2017

I join the majority opinion in full. I agree with the majority that Article V, Section 

18(c)(2) of the Pennsylvania Constitution directs this Court to review a judicial sanction 

imposed by the Court of Judicial Discipline (“CJD”) to determine whether the sanction is

“lawful.” PA. CONST. art. V., § 18(c)(2).

1

I further agree that our lawfulness inquiry is 

guided by Article V, Section 18(b)(5), which provides that the CJD “may order removal 

from office, suspension, censure or other discipline as authorized by this section and as 

warranted by the record.” PA. CONST. art. V., § 18(b)(5). Accordingly, as the majority 

holds, this Court’s lawfulness review encompasses an examination of whether the 

sanction is authorized by Section 18 and warranted by the record, i.e., the sanction is 

not “an unreasonably harsh penalty completely out of proportion to the misconduct 

involved.” Slip Op. at 21. For the reasons set forth by the majority, I agree that the 

CJD’s sanction of removing Appellant Angeles Roca from office is, indeed, lawful.

 

1 Article V, Section 18(c)(2) provides that, on the law, this Court’s review is plenary; on 

the facts, our review is clearly erroneous; and as to sanctions, our review is whether the 

sanction imposed was lawful. PA. CONST. art. V, §18(c)(2).
[J-49A-2017] [MO: Saylor, C.J.] - 2

I write separately to comment upon the majority’s observation that the imposition 

of discipline “not only punishes the wrongdoer, but also repairs the damaged public trust 

and provides guidance to other members of the judiciary regarding their conduct.” Slip 

Op. at 19 (quoting In re Berkheimer, 930 A.2d 1255, 1260 (Pa. 2007) (internal quotation 

marks and citation omitted)). I agree that the imposition of judicial discipline, by 

collateral consequence, acts to restore the public trust in the judiciary. The CJD may 

not, however, under the guise of restoring the public trust, exercise its discretion in a 

manner untethered to the misconduct of the accused jurist. It is not the role of the CJD 

to impose a more severe penalty upon a judicial officer in order to “make an example” 

out of the jurist or to allay the public’s alleged fears of judicial dysfunction as portrayed 

by the media. The CJD’s focus should always be on the individual judicial misconduct 

committed.2 While the CJD is indisputably an independent court established by this 

Commonwealth’s Constitution, PA. CONST. art. V. § 18(b)(1), it does not possess 

unbridled discretion to sanction a judicial officer in accordance with the purported whims 

of the CJD, the peculiar judge or judicial panel hearing the matter, or the “court of public 

opinion.”

 

2

This is evident in the CJD’s consideration of the following nonexclusive factors the 

CJD adopted in In re Toczydlowski, 853 A.2d 24 (Pa. Ct. Jud. Disc. 2004), and applied 

in this case: (1) whether the misconduct is an isolated instance or evidenced a pattern 

of conduct; (2) the nature, extent and frequency of the acts of misconduct; (3) whether 

the conduct occurred in or out of the courtroom; (4) whether the misconduct occurred in 

the judge’s official capacity or in his or her private life; (5) whether the judge has 

acknowledged or recognized that the acts occurred; (6) whether the judge has 

evidenced an effort to change or modify his or her conduct; (7) the judge’s length of 

service on the bench; (8) whether there have been prior complaints about the judge; (9) 

the effect the misconduct has upon the integrity of and respect for the judiciary; and (10) 

the extent to which the judge exploited his position to satisfy his personal desires.