PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery raised objections about a judge hearing a civil case brought by a firm that paid his wife a referral fee and whose principals have contributed to his campaign, according to sources in the justice system.
McCaffery’s involvement last year in a case heard by Common Pleas Court Judge Allan L. Tereshko resulted in several tense exchanges and eventually reached Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who made it clear to other officials that the judge would not be reassigned, the sources said.
In a second case in 2012, the sources said, McCaffery also complained about Tereshko in a call to the chief administrative judge in the Philadelphia court system… (more)
EDITOR: The in depth investigative reporting that the Inquirer has undertaken concerning Justice McCaffery is a rare example of what the newspaper and similar periodical used to perform. NewsLanc is currently doing such reporting concerning the proposed purchase of the Harrisburg Incinerator by the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority. Democracy depends upon an active and conscientious Fourth Estate.
“Democracy depends upon an active and conscientious Fourth Estate. “; so says Newslanc. But newspapers also attempt to form public opinion and it is at that point it is easy to cross the line to propaganda. As an example, I offer Newslanc’s relentless attacks on Governor Corbett for which Newslanc has said it makes no apologies.