Sanctions Threat From PA Chief Justice May Be 1st Amendment Violation

From the story: Pennsylvania’s chief justice could be violating federal constitutional rights with his threat of sanctions over a pay raise lawsuit, the League of Women Voters said.

The league responded to a tide of criticism from the state’s political establishment to its federal lawsuit alleging that a former chief justice negotiated a favorable court ruling for slots gambling in return for approval of a judicial pay raise.

Chief Justice Ronald Castille called the suit slanderous and said the league could face sanctions and its attorney, Paul Rossi, disciplinary action under federal court rules for making baseless charges about the Supreme Court.

But the league said Chief Justice Castille would violate the organization’s right to petition government under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution if he carries out a sanctions threat. Read more…