Ronald Castille
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Ronald Castille is currently the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He was first elected to the court as a Republican in a partisan election in 1993; his current term expires in 2013.
Legal background
Castille graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Economics in 1966. In 1971, he graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law with a Juris Doctor.[1]
Legal career
- 1971-85, Deputy district attorney
- 1986-91, District Attorney of Philadelphia
- 1991, Endorsed Republican candidate for mayor of the city of Philadelphia
- 1991-93, Reed Smith Shaw & McClay, Litigation Department, Philadelphia office
- 1993, Elected justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- 1994-96, Appellate Court Procedural Rules Committee
- 1994-present, liaison justice to Ad Hoc Committee on Evidence
- 1994-present, liaison justice to Criminal Procedural Rules Committee
- 1994-present, liaison justice to Minor Court Rules Committee
Campaign contributors
In his 1993 bid for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Castille raised a total of $342,924. To breakdown the contributions by economic interest, the top three are as follows. The largest contributor was Lawyers and Lobbyists, with $128,433, or 37.45%. The second, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, gave $31,780, or 9.27%. The third, General Business, gave $23,530, or 6.86%.[2],[3]
Complaint for premature revelation
Gene Stilp, founder of Taxpayers and Ratepayers United, filed a complaint yesterday against Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille alleging he prematurely revealed a case's outcome. Mr. Stilp's complaint comes from an article in the Philadelphia Daily News in which the journalist reported that Justice Castille told him the Court would "allow a grand jury probe of casino owner Louis DeNaples to go forward after a stay." Further, the journalist quotes him as saying, "I'm issuing a decision that lets the grand jury go forward." Mr. Stilp charges the jurist violated the state Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3, section (6) which stipulates, "Judges should abstain from public comment about a pending proceeding in any court, and should require similar abstention on the part of court personnel subject to their direction and control." His complaint also alleges a breach of Canon 1 of the Code which calls on judges to uphold the Court's independence and integrity and of Canon 2 which requires judges to avoid the appearance of impropriety in their official duties.[4]
League of Women Voters lawsuit
In a statement, Chief Justice Ronald Castille wrote that the League of Women Voters suit "slanders the entire Supreme Court of Pennsylvania with baseless and irresponsible charges." The lawsuit claims that one or more of the state Supreme Court justices used the League of Women Voters' 2005 legal challenge of the state slots law as leverage for the legislative and judicial pay raise of 2005. "The filing parties may have subjected themselves to sanctions, and the attorney may have subjected himself to disciplinary action," he wrote. Former Chief Justice Ralph Cappy is the only defendant named in the suit, which cites information from unnamed lawmakers. The league's lawsuit claims that prior to a decision on the slot machine case, Cappy entered into secret talks with lawmakers to secure a pay raise for state judges. The suit states Cappy acted with the knowledge of Governor Ed Rendell. Chuck Ardo, Rendell's spokesman, dismissed the allegations in the lawsuit. Cappy, who resigned in January, denied the allegations in a statement issued Tuesday. "I do not understand why a respected organization such as the League of Women Voters would associate itself with this irresponsible lawsuit," he wrote.[5]
Government interception of phone calls
Ruling on a case of government eavesdropping, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have "no reasonable expectation of privacy" when answering telephone calls made to their own home, according to a legal industry newsletter. The "Legal Intelligencer," in a story carried on the website Law.com, said that the state's high court, in a "fractured" 4-3 ruling, noted that "the methods of telephone communication widely used today" precluded any privacy expectations. The majority said that "a person has no idea who may be listening in on the other end of the phone line and, therefore, cannot believe the information being discussed won't be revealed." At issue was a conversation that was taped as part of a drug investigation by the state's attorney general's office and the Cranberry Township Police Department, said the publication. Cappy, in his opinion, noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has said in several cases that where oral conversations are concerned, people have no justifiable expectation that a party or parties on the other end of the line will not reveal information exchanged in conversation to police. Justice Ronald Castille, along with Justice Thomas Saylor, issued concurring opinions.[6]
See also
External links
- Biography of Ronald Castille, provided by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- Wikipedia: Ronald D. Castille
- Wikipedia: Angel Mendez
- NNBD.com
- Project Vote Smart
- County courts will receive longer prospective jury lists
- New York Times: Castille asks Meese for help
- Castille igniting controversy on the court
- Castille Takes Over as Chief Justice
- Former Pa. Chief Justice Says Lawsuit is ‘Preposterous’
- Follow the Money: Ronald Castille
- Mental Hope News
References
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The Pennsylvania Project on Judgepedia
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