Swift justice

State Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery's invective-laced apology for sending pornographic e-mails only makes it more urgent to resolve his status on the bench as soon as possible.

The backhanded apology, which had the audacity to question whether he "offended anyone" by sending or receiving more than 230 sexually explicit e-mails, criticized Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille for creating a "cooked-up controversy."

The jurists' antagonism is disturbing enough, but that a Supreme Court justice thought nothing of e-mailing porn destroys public trust.

A citizen's complaint has brought the e-mail affair to the state Judicial Conduct Board, but it could take years to finish that process. It would be more expeditious for the Supreme Court to appoint a special master, as it did in the Luzerne County "kids for cash" case, to handle the matter. The court should also decide whether McCaffery should be suspended while the special master investigates.

The sooner the e-mail scandal is resolved, the better, especially given past allegations against McCaffery involving a fixed traffic ticket and legal referral fees paid to his wife while she served as his chief judicial aide. It's not just McCaffery's reputation that stands in the balance, but that of the state's highest court.