Court Opinion

ID: 9735039
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:58:28.204016+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:54.715762
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION
Justice NEWMAN.
I must respectfully dissent from the decision reached by the majority today. I agree that a violation of Canon 3A(6) of the Code of Judicial Conduct does not automatically require recusal of the jurist. As I have previously articulated, though, in the present circumstance, I believe that the actions of President Judge Kleinfelter raised at least an appearance of impropriety and bias and, therefore, his refusal to recuse himself was error.
In October of 2000, right before sentencing, Thomas Druce, III (Druce) filed an Emergency Application to this Court requesting that we exercise our King’s Bench powers to force President Judge Kleinfelter’s removal from the sentencing *597proceedings. The Court denied the request, but Mr. Justice Castille filed a Dissenting Statement, which I joined. The Dissenting Statement declared in its entirety as follows:
I dissent. The published remarks attributed to President Judge Kleinfelter concerning this matter were not mere public statements made during the course of his official duties or attempts to explain the procedures of the court. Rather, they were comments concerning substantive matters in the case pending before him. See Pennsylvania Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3A(6) (judge should abstain from public comment about a pending proceeding). Accordingly, I would grant the Emergency Application for Recusal and/or Disqualification and remove President Judge Kleinfelter from this case. However, I would deny the motion for assignment of an out-of-county judge and allow the matter to be reassigned to another judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County.
Reproduced Record at 216a.
The decision whether or not to grant King’s Bench review is not a decision on the merits and, accordingly, principles of stare decisis do not apply. Thus, I standby my earlier-expressed sentiments, ably articulated by Mr. Justice Castille in his Dissenting Statement. I would reverse the Order of the Superior Court and remand the matter to the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County for a new sentencing hearing, to be conducted by a different judge.