The ACLU of Pennsylvania and POWER Interfaith filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit brought by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner opposing impeachment proceedings in the state legislature. Mr. Krasner filed a legal challenge to the impeachment proceedings that asked the Commonwealth Court to dismiss the effort as unconstitutional and to expedite its decision. In the ACLU-PA and POWER Interfaith brief, we argue that the impeachment was based on policy disagreements and did not meet the usual standard of "misbehavior in office," which is typically used when a public official is involved in criminal activity, corruption, or dereliction of duty.

On December 30, 2022, the Commonwealth Court ruled that the state House failed to meet the standard of "misbehavior in office" in its articles of impeachment.

Attorney(s)

Sara Rose, Steve Loney, Marian Schneider of the ACLU of Pennsylvania

Pro Bono Law Firm(s)

John Freedman of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer

Date filed

December 16, 2022

Court

Commonwealth Court

Status

Filed