Ronald Castille
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Contents |
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 Education and Experience
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 Experience
- 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 pertains to an article in the Philadelphia Daily News on Dec. 10 in which columnist John Baer reported that Justice Castille had told him the Court would allow a grand jury probe of casino owner Louis DeNaples to go forward after a stay. Mr. DeNaples, who owns Mount Airy Casino Resort in Paradise Township, Monroe County, is under investigation for allegedly lying about ties to accused mob figure William "Big Billy" D'Elia while applying for a gaming license. Justice Castille's reported discussion with Mr. Baer took place outside the Peacock Alley bar and restaurant in New York City's Waldorf-Astoria during December's Pennsylvania Society Weekend, a gathering of civic bigwigs from across the state. "I'm issuing a decision that lets the grand jury go forward," Mr. Baer quotes Justice Castille as saying. 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]
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. "Not to litigate the claims delays both justice and finality," wrote Chief Justice Ronald Castille, who was Philadelphia district attorney when the killings occurred. Sam's defense attorney, Jules Epstein, said he believed the rulings marked the first time in the United States that an appellate court had approved forcible medication for a death-row inmate who is not a danger to himself or others.
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. In another Philadelphia case, the high court also ruled that Herbert Watson, convicted in 1983 of shooting to death his estranged girlfriend, must be medicated to determine whether he wants to proceed with his appeal. Castille wrote in that case that prosecutors were "attempting to vindicate society's compelling interest in bringing an end to the litigation of this case, which is now well into its third decade." In both cases, Castille was joined by Justices Thomas Saylor, J. Michael Eakin and Seamus McCaffrey. Justices Max Baer and Debra Todd dissented.[5]
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.
Paul A. Rossi, the lawyer for the League of Women Voters, said the group is not claiming the state Supreme Court changed its vote on the slots' lawsuit because of the pay raise. But Rossi said the League's right to due process was violated because there was an appearance of impropriety between the Legislature and the justices. "Justices in this state are too chummy with the executive and legislative branches," Rossi said. "That's what this case is about."[6]
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" – including speakerphones and cordless phones – 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. "A telephone call received by or placed to another is readily subject to numerous means of intrusion at the other end of the call, all without the knowledge of the individual on the call," wrote Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Ralph Cappy for the majority. "Extension telephones and speakerphones render it impossible for one to objectively and reasonably expect that he or she will be free from intrusion. The individual cannot take steps to ensure that others are excluded from the call." 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.
Justice Stephen Zappala, the legal newsletter reported, authored one of two dissenting opinions. He was joined by Chief Justice John Flaherty. "Our right to privacy does not rise and fall with technology, but rather is grounded in our state constitution, which has afforded the right to privacy the utmost protection," Zappala wrote. Justice Russell Nigro wrote his own dissent; he was joined by Flaherty and Zappala, the Legal Intelligencer reported. But in his dissent, Zappala assailed his colleagues over what he believes is a hit against the sanctity of privacy in one's own home. "Today the majority holds that the Pennsylvania Constitution affords no protection against the government listening to, recording and reporting the details of our private telephone conversations," he wrote. "By holding that we have no expectation of privacy in the confidential messages and conversations transmitted from our telephones, it has placed the freedom of every citizen into the hands of the law enforcement authorities." In his separate dissent, Nigro wrote that he could not understand the decision, even in comparison to other cases. "I am mystified by the fact that while an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in a dialed telephone number … that person, according to the majority, has absolutely no privacy expectation in the content of his conversation," Nigro wrote.[7]
See Also
External Links
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Ronald Castille
- 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
References
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