Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of District Attorney Larry Krasner, likely ending a GOP-led attempt to remove the progressive prosecutor from office.
The state House of Representatives impeached Krasner, a Democrat, in a party-line vote nearly two years ago. A trial in the Senate has been stalled since an appeals court issued a judgment indicating that the charges against him were not constitutional.
On Thursday, the justices ruled that the removal effort was “null and void” just two weeks after the November 2022 impeachment, when the two-year legislative term ended in Harrisburg.
Under a principle known as “sine die,” pending bills and other unresolved business cannot be carried over into the next session, which corresponds with length of House terms. Lawmakers typically must restart the process by reintroducing legislation.
Though the Commonwealth Court determined that impeachments are not subject to “sine die,” a majority of the Supreme Court disagreed, reversing a portion of the initial order and arguing that no such exception was included in the state constitution.
The justices did not opine on the merit of the charges, declining to weigh into a legal debate over the meaning of “misbehavior in office” that factored heavily into the Commonwealth Court case. But they also did not overrule the lower court, which found that none of the seven articles of impeachable met the standard for a removable offense.
Lawmakers could get around the “sine die” rule by re-adopting the articles of impeachment; though, in the years since the initial vote, Democrats have taken control of the House and currently hold a slim advantage.
“It is important to note the court did not answer if the allegations of misbehavior in office met the constitutional standard for impeachment and conviction for the same,” said lead impeachment manager state Rep. Craig Williams, a Republican whose district includes parts of Chester and Delaware counties.
“Those questions must be resolved by the Supreme Court,” he added, in a statement. “The rule of law and the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system requires it.”
GOP state Rep. Martina White, who represents the Far Northeast, introduced the impeachment resolution and said, in response to the Supreme Court decision, “all Philadelphians – and Mr. Krasner – were denied a day in court to make their case.”
The articles of impeachment claimed Krasner’s reform-minded policies have caused skyrocketing crime. Violence spiked in the city in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, rates have since dropped, with homicides currently down 40% compared to last year.
Other claims surround Krasner’s alleged interference with a legislative committee set up to investigate crime in Philadelphia and fault his actions in specific cases.
The District Attorney’s Office, in a statement Friday, characterized the impeachment articles as “largely a compilation of gripes about criminal justice policy differences.”
Krasner and his allies have asserted that the effort to strip him from office was an attempt to subvert the will of city voters. He has been elected twice – most recently in 2021, when his opponents in the primary and general elections tried to paint him as ‘soft on crime.’
“By stopping this impeachment effort, the Supreme Court joins the Commonwealth Court in rejecting the General Assembly’s attack on our democracy,” the DA’s Office said in the statement.
