Attorney: Judge Leslie Fleisher will quit

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Leslie Fleisher will step down March 15 from the judgeship she has held since 2001, Fleisher's attorney confirmed today.

Talk of Fleisher's resignation has been widespread around the city's Criminal Justice Center for several months after lawyer complaints about her courtroom management and judicial temperament.

Samuel C. Stretton, who represented Fleisher in the months leading to her decision, said Fleisher, 47, was "retiring" to return to private practice and resume her pre-bench career working with animal-rights groups.

Fleisher has declined comment on her troubles with the legal community - including several lawyer complaints to the state Judicial Conduct Board - described in The Inquirer on Dec. 22.

Fleisher, a Republican, has not been in court since Nov. 19 as she recovers from pneumonia. On Jan. 4, her courtroom was officially reassigned to Common Pleas Court Judge Willis W. Berry Jr., who was returning from a four-month suspension without pay for running his real estate business from his courthouse offices.

Fleisher's personal troubles will probably bring her back to the Criminal Justice Center. On Jan. 5, the state Attorney General's Office filed assault charges against her former boyfriend, Lewis B. Palmer 3d, 47, a detective with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

For the last two years, Fleisher and Palmer had what colleagues have described as a volatile relationship. In March 2008, police arrived at Fleisher's Old City home to a report of a domestic disturbance; in October police returned for a domestic-assault call.

Palmer's attorney has predicted he will be acquitted of the charges, which include a count accusing him of illegally recording telephone conversations with Fleisher.

Palmer's preliminary hearing, scheduled for Jan. 12, was continued until Feb. 23 so court officials can appoint a non-Philadelphia judge to hear the case.

Palmer was placed on restricted duty by the District Attorney's office after the October incident. After his arrest, the District Attorney's Office suspended him without pay and gave him 30 days notice of intent to dismiss.