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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – In Vincent Quinn’s world, where every judge is a potential crook, drug dealer or sexual harasser, not much fazes him. As chief counsel to the Judicial Conduct Board, the 47-year-old heads investigations into about 500 citizen complaints of ethical misconduct filed against judges each year. The complaints run the gamut, from bias and conflict of interest to improper fund-raising and drug dealing.
It’s a tough job that doesn’t always make Quinn a fan of the 1,000 jurists comprising Pennsylvania’s judiciary. One former Supreme Court justice called him – with a smile – a “Nazi,” while some district justices jokingly accuse him of all but stalking them.
Quinn insists there is nothing special about himself and that he is just a “boring guy in an interesting job.” But colleagues agree he plays a key role in guiding the fate of accused judges.
“His job is very important,” said Robert Curran, a former chairman of the conduct board, a 12-member panel that decides whether to formally charge a judge with wrongdoing.
“The counsel first of all screens all the complaints,” Curran said. “And if any charges are filed, the counsel tries to argue cases before the Court of Judicial Discipline. He works in an area of law not well-known to most lawyers and judges.”
In his role, Quinn has butted heads with former Fayette County President Judge Richard Cicchetti, calling him a “blowhard and a bully” in a 1996 trial that featured allegations of sexual harassment and campaign finance violations. Cicchetti eventually was reprimanded for his actions.
More recently, Quinn went after former state Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen with the board’s approval, convincing the discipline court to disbar him for a 1994 felony conspiracy conviction. Larsen had contended he was punished enough when the General Assembly impeached and convicted him.
The action in February, now being appealed to a special tribunal of the state Supreme Court, prompted Larsen to call Quinn a “Nazi” to a reporter.
“I wouldn’t expect him to like me,” Quinn said, adding that some district justices falsely believe he is “everywhere at all times.”
It is a bit of a change for the University of Pennsylvania Law School graduate, who spent 16 years defending accused criminals in Lancaster County before he got into the business of prosecuting judges. He said he took the job in 1994 because he considered it more “unique” and isn’t rattled by judicial criticism.
“I think when you look at things, there are always two sides to a story and you have to look at them. … You become more hard-boiled about it,” said Quinn, who is assisted by two lawyers and two investigators.
Quinn, who lives near Mountville in Lancaster County, said he likes most judges he deals with and believes that most want to do the right thing. He has an approach to his investigations that is low-key – so judges won’t be “looking over their shoulder all the time worrying that they’re going to be disciplined.”
Because his investigatory role is kept confidential, some critics wonder whether he prosecutes aggressively enough. Out of the hundreds of complaints filed annually, only three or four become formal charges, and the rest are thrown out.
“Because of the very nature of his job, which is behind closed doors reviewing complaints, it’s very difficult to have public oversight and gauge his competence,” said Lynn Marks, executive director of the reform group Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.
Quinn, who describes himself as a “wound-up” and “compulsive” worker, said he just tries to make sure wrongdoers are caught.
“Some judges need to be disciplined, that’s pretty clear,” he said. “Hopefully over a period of time, you’ll have fewer judges making inadvertent mistakes.”
On the Net: Court of Judicial Discipline: http://www.cjdpa.org
Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts: http://www.libertynet.org/pmcpms