Men in Black: at it again

SO NOW WE HAVE a new battle on the state's highest court, this one part of an ongoing fight from the streets of Philadelphia.

Former Philly district attorney, Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Castille, and former Philly cop and "Eagles Court" judge, Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, have expanded their longtime animus over style, clout and general manliness to, well, porn.

Castille, who isn't talking, is said to be considering what if any action to recommend regarding the embarrassment of McCaffery, who isn't talking, getting caught in the headline-grabbing story of state officials sharing porn emails.

Sigh.

So much for high-minded legal discourse and wrangling over finer points of constitutional interpretation.

Then again, this court's no stranger to the bizarre or the controversial.

Twenty years ago this month, the state Senate impeached the late Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen, accused of multiple improprieties, who in turn accused another justice, Stephen Zappala, of trying to run him down in a Mercedes-Benz outside Philly's Four Seasons Hotel.

Oh, and a secretary to Larsen at one point testified he had her shop for his jockstraps and, wait for it, wait for it, his porno magazines.

See. Things get better. No need to send someone out these days. Just use Google.

The high court had its hand in the infamous 2005 legislative pay grab, which also raised judges' salaries. In fact, after public outcry led lawmakers to repeal the late-night theft of tax dollars, judges kept their raises.

If you're wondering, they're the fifth-highest paid in the nation: $200,205; the chief gets $206,032.

Then the Luzerne County "kids for cash" scandal broke - county judges taking kickbacks for putting kids, unrepresented by counsel, into private detention centers - and the court dragged its feet in the face of pleas for intervention.

It took the feds charging judges with corruption to get the high court's attention.

Then came the controversy over a new Philadelphia Family Court building. First, it was revealed the lawyer Castille picked to head the project also represented Foxwoods casino in cases before Castille's court. Then it was revealed that he also worked for the court project developer, collecting pay from both sides.

The Inquirer in June 2010 called for Castille's resignation. He's still there. The new building at 15th and Arch streets gets dedicated tomorrow.

Then in 2012 Justice Joan Orie Melvin was indicted on charges of using her office for political campaigns. She was convicted last year.

Then McCaffrey got snagged in two dust-ups: chatting up somebody at Traffic Court the day his wife's ticket was tossed; and setting off an investigation into referral fees that law firms paid to his wife, who works for him.

Castille, never one to hide disdain, suggested McCaffrey should start "rethinking" his position on the court. No indication he's doing that.

Now it's Ron vs. Seamus over porn and the Code of Judicial Conduct and, generally, this question: Since other public servants lost their jobs due to porn, should the same or higher standard apply to the highest bench?

If it does, Castille's judicial career could have bookends.

When he joined the court in '94 he saw a justice ousted. When he leaves the court because of his age (70) at the end of this year, might he see another?

Or is this scrape just an extension of a brawl between two hard-ass Philly Marines? And do five other justices (there is one woman, Justice Debra Todd) have the appetite for a porn fight on America's oldest (1722) appellate court?

There are or should be high expectations for those sworn to mete out justice.

But in Pennsylvania there's ample evidence such expectations remain unmet.

Blog: ph.ly/BaerGrowls

Columns: ph.ly/JohnBaer