Even though Griffin, 54, was twice voted into office, the 1984 felony fraud conviction that she repeatedly sought to hide from authorities stood as an affront to the whole notion of sitting in judgment of others.

Griffin never should have served the past six-plus years on the bench. She wouldn't have but for the vagaries of Pennsylvania's system of electing judges, where political-party backing means more than qualifications.

Griffin's reelection in November, despite an outcry over her criminal record and poor ratings by the Philadelphia legal community, provides a strong argument in favor of switching to merit-based appointment of judges.

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham and state Attorney General Tom Corbett were right to doggedly pursue Griffin's removal, and they did so during years of legal wrangling over who had jurisdiction over this matter.

Though Griffin tried to split hairs as to whether her credit-card fraud conviction constituted an "infamous crime" under the state constitution, there was little doubt that her felony disqualified her as a judge.

Griffin pleaded guilty to two felony charges in a credit-card scam, then lied about it in her state bar application. She pointed to her troubled early adulthood, her attainment of a law education, and her court service in arguing she should stay on the bench.

But it stretched the notion of second chances to an absurd point to suggest that a felon should be allowed to serve as a judge, much less one earning $153,798 a year.

The high court acted wisely to remove this cloud hanging over the city courts.