That is the hottest legal topic in Pennsylvania right now.
The legal issue is whether Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane can continue to function in her position when her law license is under suspension.
This case is a combination of politics, political intrigue and legal precedent that is coming together for a historic showdown.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court temporarily suspended the law license of Kane after criminal charges were lodged against her.
The Pennsylvania High Court did suspend her law license but allowed her to continue to serve as the Attorney General of Pennsylvania.
Can a lawyer with a a suspended law license still serve as the Attorney General of Pennsylvania?
Gov. Wolf, a Democrat has already said he thinks Kane should resign or take a leave of absence from her position.
But wait the political intrigue continues.
One of the 5 Supreme Court justices who voted to suspend her license was subsequently charged by the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board with reading and sending lewd and distasteful emails from his private computer to an attorney in the Atty. Gen.’s office.
Kane has now requested the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reconsider it’s suspension of her license.
Why?
Because one of the justices who voted to suspend her license may have had an interest in having her removed from office since she discovered his lewd emails and sent them to the Judicial Conduct panel.
Atty. Gen. Kane is arguing that even though the vote was 5-0 against her that the Supreme Court should reconsider its decision in light of the accusations against the one Pa. Supreme Court justice.
Adding further to this drama is the fact that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court now has 3 newly elected State Supreme Court justices on the bench.
All 3 Justices are Democrats like Kane.
And finally today former Gov. Randel testified FOR Kane (from the Johnstown Democrat newspaper):
“Former Gov. Ed Rendell told lawmakers to slow down their rush to oust Attorney General Kathleen Kane, questioning the necessity of a law license to do the job.
Rendell and Kane are both Democrats, but the former governor told a Senate panel on Tuesday that he was not lending partisan support to the embattled attorney general.
Instead, Rendell said, he was weighing in on an interesting legal point.
As district attorney of Philadelphia in the 1970s and early ’80s – a job he likened to Kane’s – Rendell said 95 to 97 percent of his work was administrative or involved policy and public relations.
“I didn’t need to be a lawyer to do those things,” he said.
Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident and slip and fall attorney Bernie Tully does not know where this legal drama will end up.
But one things for sure.
It’s not over yet.
Thanks for reading.
Bernie the attorney.