Top Judges Rejected Gerrymandered Election Map; Now They Face Impeachment

What’s the story?

GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania aren’t going down without a fight. First, the state Supreme Court struck down the congressional district map as a partisan gerrymander. Then the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the case and challenge the state ruling. Now, GOP lawmakers have introduced legislation to impeach the justices who issued the state ruling.

GOP State Rep. Cris Dush said in February that the justices should be impeached, but he waited until the U.S. Supreme Court decision was handed down to formally introduce legislation calling for impeachment. He had hoped to include text from a SCOTUS decision in his favor.

Still, he’s forging ahead. According to The Hill, Dush has "introduced resolutions to impeach four of the five state Supreme Court justices who voted to override congressional district maps", accusing them of “misbehavior in office”.

A fifth resolution for the fifth justice who voted to strike down the maps is pending introduction.

Only one Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, an elected office, has ever been impeached. Justice Rolf Larsen was impeached in 1994 following conviction on two counts of conspiracy.

With only Republican support, Dush could achieve impeachment of all five justices. The state House has the sole power to impeach justices. Republicans currently control 120 of 203 state House seats. Actually removing justices would require a two-thirds vote in the state Senate, and Republicans control 34 of the 50 state Senate seats.

What do you think?

Should the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices be impeached? Are you from Pennsylvania? What should the voters of Pennsylvania do if impeachment resolutions are passed?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)