Kangaroo court
Impeachment of Philadelphia DA a shameful attack on democracy
Members of the Pennsylvania House on Wednesday voted to impeach Philadelphia’s twice-elected district attorney, Larry Krasner. The 107-85 vote, almost entirely along party lines, is an unabashed and unprecedented attack by the General Assembly on the right of local communities to govern themselves.
Never mind the baloney from House Republicans expressing concern for the people of Philadelphia. Allowing the General Assembly to remove an elected local official, without proper cause, would set a horrible and illegitimate precedent, threatening the autonomy of local communities and disenfranchising their voters.
The constitutional standard for impeachment is high, and the House hasn’t come close to meeting it. Only twice in the last 200 years has the House impeached an elected official — a State Supreme Court Justice in 1994 for improper influence by a political supporter, and a county judge in 1811 for imprisoning people for wearing hats in court. Both cases met the constitutional grounds for impeachment: misbehavior in office.
“Misbehavior” means malfeasance, misconduct or corruption. There is none in Mr. Krasner’s office. Instead, the articles of impeachment blame Mr. Krasner’s reform measures for a two-year spike in gun violence, and allege he was derelict in his duty to protect citizens.
No evidence, however, directly links Mr. Krasner’s policies with an increase in homicides that is affecting major cities nationwide, including Pittsburgh. More to the point, if “misbehavior” meant policies legislators don’t like, every elected official in Pennsylvania would be subject to the whims of the General Assembly.
“This is a complete abuse of the process,” Jane Roh, spokesperson for Mr. Krasner’s office, said this week.
Delay trial
The House impeachment vote clears the way for a trial in the State Senate, where convicting Mr. Krasner would take a two-thirds vote. But the session ends this month, and the Senate is not obligated to add a day to accommodate this Kangaroo court — nor should it. With a pending lawsuit from Mr. Krasner’s office, the courts should first determine whether the impeachment proceedings are lawful.
A newly formed House committee, headed by state Rep. John Lawrence, R.-Chester, began investigating Mr. Krasner in June. These shenanigans purported to not only make Mr. Krasner appear soft on crime, but also other Democrats running in mid-term elections. It was a losing effort but it affected the campaigns. Democrats Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman lacked the courage to defend Mr. Krasner or call out the Republicans. And Mr. Fetterman backed off some of his earlier statements about reducing Pennsylvania’s prison population.
Running on reform
House Republicans assert they are attempting to protect the people of Philadelphia from Mr. Krasner’s policies. But it is the people of Philadelphia who elected Mr. Krasner in 2017 and then re-elected him by a landside last year, after he ran on a progressive platform. Among other things, Mr. Krasner reformed the cash-bail system, exonerated wrongfully convicted prisoners
through one of the nation’s most effective Conviction Integrity Units, and won the first homicide conviction against an on-duty Philadelphia cop in 44 years, after the shooting of an unarmed Black man.
No doubt, Philadelphia and other major cities have experienced a horrific rise in gun violence. So far this year, 460 homicides were recorded in Philadelphia, as well as nearly 1,700 non fatal shootings. Philadelphia’s murder rates spiked between 2019 and 2021, but Pittsburgh’s homicide rates have gone up at about the same rate. Pandemic-era murder rates in some other cities have increased even more.
At any rate, the causes of violence in Philadelphia — and anywhere else — are complex and include an underperforming police department. It’s also undeniable that Mr. Krasner’s relationship with the Philadelphia Police Department is strained.
Twenty-five years ago, Philadelphia Police and the District Attorney’s Office had one of the worst reputations in the country. Frameups, lies, coerced witness testimony, planted evidence and other dirty tricks sent many innocent people to prison and death row. Where was the General Assembly then?
Mr. Krasner was elected because people in Philadelphia, especially people of color, were fed up with a corrupt and abusive law enforcement system. Now, Mr. Krasner has his own critics, including some in the communities that elected him. But it is they and the people of Philadelphia, not the General Assembly, who should determine how long he remains in office.
Pennsylvanians who remain silent about this shameful, undemocratic power-grab should not be surprised when legislators in Harrisburg come gunning for their elected leaders.