Supreme Court Leaves Judge’s Suspension Intact Over Democratic Facebook Advocacy
The justices left intact rulings that found his Facebook posts violated judicial conduct rules and undermined confidence in the bench.
- On Oct. 5, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Mark Cohen, a former Pennsylvania judge suspended for partisan Facebook posts, leaving his suspension in place without issuing a separate opinion.
- Pennsylvania judicial authorities suspended Cohen in 2024 after reviewing more than 60 Facebook posts praising President Joe Biden and Gov. Josh Shapiro while criticizing Republicans, violating judicial conduct rules.
- Cohen argued his speech was protected by the First Amendment, but the Court applied a balancing test, deciding the Commonwealth's interest in preserving judicial impartiality outweighed his interest in advocating for the Democratic Party.
- Rejecting strict scrutiny, the Court concluded sitting judges face stricter speech limits than ordinary political speakers to preserve public confidence in judicial independence and impartiality.
- For nearly 25 years, courts have struggled to determine whether precedents applying strict scrutiny to political speech by judicial candidates also apply to sitting judges, leaving the applicable standard deeply divided.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Judge Suspended Over Pro-Biden Posts Loses Supreme Court Appeal
The Supreme Court turned away a former Pennsylvania Democratic judge who lost his seat and pensions after years of Facebook posts praising Joe Biden and party causes. On Monday the high court declined without comment to hear the case of Mark Cohen, once a judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Cohen had been suspended after making dozens of politically charged Facebook posts while still on the bench, including open praise for Joe Biden…
Supreme Court Ends Appeals of Former Pennsylvania Judge Suspended Over Social Media Posts
This week, Judge Mark Cohen's long, checkered judicial career came to an ignoble end. The Supreme Court denied his petition for certiorari to challenge the 2024 ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that he was properly suspended over a litany of partisan social media posts while a sitting judge. Cohen is a former Democratic politician…
Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal from Politically Biased Judge
The Supreme Court turned down an appeal from a Pennsylvania judge suspended for sharing partisan political views on social media while in office. This decision underscores the importance of maintaining judicial impartiality.
JUST IN: Supreme Court Smacks Down Left-Wing Judge
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a former Pennsylvania judge who was suspended after repeatedly posting partisan political content on Facebook while serving on the bench. Former Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Cohen, a longtime Democratic state lawmaker before becoming a judge, had argued that his suspension violated his […]
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