Bar chancellors call for independent review of porn emails

The leader of the Philadelphia Bar Association called Wednesday for an independent investigation to reveal "once and for all" the full story of the exchange of email pornography among defense lawyers, prosecutors, and judges.

In a somewhat more muted statement, the head of the state bar association said Porngate, as it has come to be called, needed a "fair, thorough, and impartial review."

The calls came as dismay has intensified over how the state Supreme Court, the Judicial Conduct Board, and Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane have handled the controversy.

Critics say Kane, who discovered the porn in emails on her office's computer servers, has been arbitrary and vindictive in selectively naming officials involved.

At the same time, the high court and the judicial panel have been rocked by criticism that they whitewashed offensive emails of Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin, dismissing misogynistic and racist material as "mildly pornographic" and "unremarkable."

Albert S. Dandridge III, chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar, said the public deserved the "full, unvarnished truth of what happened, when it happened, and who was involved."

"The daily dribs and drabs from various public figures regarding Porngate are corrosive and have contributed to the erosion of public confidence in our justice system," he said. "This must come to an end."

William H. Pugh V, president of the Pennsylvania Bar, focused his criticism on the emails' content.

"Conduct that is demeaning to women and members of diverse groups is not acceptable," he said.

The two joined former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who was the first to call for a special prosecutor to sort out the controversy. The Inquirer Editorial Board and former U.S. Attorney Peter Vaira, writing in the Legal Intelligencer, have urged the same.

Kane's spokesman, Chuck Ardo, said Kane welcomed the comments from the bar associations.

This month, the Supreme Court - after hiring its second outside expert to review Eakin's emails - found that his conduct was not so troubling as to require high court action. Instead, it deferred to the Judicial Conduct Board.

The judicial board has begun its second investigation of Eakin in as many years, amid a debate about whether it received a full set of emails in its first review.

In recent days, the conduct board has been stung by a Philadelphia Daily News report disclosing that its chief counsel, Robert C. Graci, was a longtime friend of Eakin's and served as a lawyer for his 2011 political campaign. Graci later withdrew from any role in the second review.

The Inquirer reported that a member of the conduct board had received X-rated emails from Seamus McCaffery, a former justice of the Supreme Court, who retired last year, a week after his colleagues suspended him over porn.

In early 2014, Kane discovered that her office had been a hub for the exchange of pornographic emails when she examined computer traffic as part of an unrelated investigation. The emails were captured on her servers because recipients or senders in the email chains were agency staff.

While the total number of people involved in the email chains remains unknown, the sampling made public by Kane and others shows a social network of senders and recipients with ties to the legal system.

Besides Eakin and McCaffery, those in on the exchanges included many in the legal community in the Harrisburg area, including county judges, detectives, police, federal prosecutors, and defense lawyers.

Kane's office has said about 60 current members of her 800-employee staff had swapped porn. Of those, she fired or forced out six last year, primarily agents or clerical workers.

Seven prosecutors on her staff sent or received porn. Kane did not fire any, but suspended or reprimanded them.

At the same time, Kane has applauded the firing of former prosecutors on her staff who lost their new jobs after she publicly linked them to the emails.

She has also called for the dismissal of other former prosecutors, including Frank Fina, who now works for Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.

The Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for Women, joined by the five women on Philadelphia City Council, has urged Williams to fire Fina and two other former state prosecutors on his staff.

Williams has refused, saying they had apologized and had been ordered to attend sensitivity sessions.

Kane is awaiting trial on charges of perjury, conspiracy, and other offenses. Prosecutors says she leaked confidential grand jury documents in a bid to embarrass Fina. She has pleaded not guilty.

cmccoy@phillynews.com

215-854-4821 @CraigRMcCoy