J. Michael Eakin
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J. Michael Eakin (b. November 18, 1948) is an Associate Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He was first elected to the court as a Republican in a partisan election in 2001; his current term expires in 2011.
Justice Eakin was born in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He and wife, Heidi, have three children, Michael, Zachary, Chase.[1]
Education
Eakin graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1970 with a Bachelors of Arts (BA) in Government and obtained his JD, from Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law in 1975.[2] In 2005 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Widener University.[3]
Career
- Eakin served with Pennsylvania’s Army National Guard, 28th Division from 1971-1977.
- From 1975-1983, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Cumberland County.
- In 1984 he became the District Attorney for Cumberland County
- Judge for the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court from 1995-2001.[4]
Awards and associations
- Faculty, National College of District Attorneys, 1975-1995
- National District Attorneys Association, 1975-1995
- American Bar Association
- Cumberland County Chapter, American Inns of Court
- American Judges Association
- Brehon Society
- Cumberland County Bar Association
- Dauphin County Bar Association
- Lancaster County Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Faculty, Pennsylvania Bar Institute
- Past Executive Committee Member/Past President/Member, Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association
- Past Board of Directors /Past President/Member, Pennsylvania District Attorney's Institute[5]
Mentally-ill death row inmates
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision impacts four death-row inmates, including two mentally ill prisoners from Philadelphia who can now be forcibly medicated in order to make them mentally competent to continue their appeals. Ruling in the case of Thavirak Sam, a Cambodian immigrant who killed three family members in 1989 and has been mentally incompetent for years, the court said that if Sam were left untreated, his appeal would remain in limbo indefinitely.
The issue is important because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1986 that convicted murderers cannot be executed if they are so mentally ill that they cannot understand why they face a death sentence and what that sentence means. Sam, now 51, has been on death row since 1991, and prosecutors have been trying for several years to get him medicated so he can be competent enough to decide whether he wants to continue his appeal or be put to death. At varying points over the years, Sam has imagined that the U.S. Supreme Court had ordered him freed and that a Cambodian prince had interceded on his behalf. Castille was joined by Justices Thomas Saylor, J. Michael Eakin and Seamus McCaffrey. Justices Max Baer and Debra Todd dissented.[6]
Cost of judicial offices
Pennsylvania taxpayers spend $3.42 million a year to house 43 appeals judges in personal offices, often at some of the swankiest addresses. "The judiciary's extravagant expenditures on office space are just one more example of the mismanagement of the public's purse in Pennsylvania," said Matt Brouillette, president of the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative Harrisburg think tank. "This is yet another example of how we've lost sight of what it means to go into 'public service.'" Three of the 10 most-expensive offices are occupied by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ralph Cappy and Justice Max Baer, and Superior Court Judge Debra Todd. [7]
Writing style
Eakin is known in legal circles for writing opinions in an unorthodox way. He enjoys writing his opinions in poetic verse, as he has stated here: "The subject of the case (…) call[s] for a little grin here or there."[8] For this, he has joined a long list of Justices and Judges who have been heavily criticized for bringing literary insight into what has traditionally been boring and straight forward judicial decision making.[9]
Eakin's judicial peers have criticized his style. In Adam Liptak's article, Justices Call on Bench's Bard to Limit his Lyricism, N.Y. TIMES, Dec. 15, 2002, Chief Justice Stephen Zappala was quoted as writing that "An opinion that expresses itself in rhyme reflects poorly on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania." Justice Ralph Cappy was also quoted as stating that "Every jurist has the right to express him or herself in a manner the jurist deems appropriate, [but I am concerned about] the perception that litigants and the public at large might form when an opinion of the court is reduced to rhyme." However, Justice Eakin has justified his so-called “poetic justice” by stating that "[Y]ou have an obligation as a judge to be right, but you have no obligation to be dull."[10]
2001 election campaign
On November 6, 2001, Eakin ran as a Republican against Kate Ford Elliott for his current ten-year term on the court.[11]
- Eakin: 1,051,360 (52.4%)
- Ford Elliott: 954,053 (47.6%)
External links
References
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The Pennsylvania Project on Judgepedia
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