Allegheny County Judge Tranquilli denied back-pay; barred from seeking judicial office
Former Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark V. Tranquilli will not receive any of his withheld salary during his three-month suspension.
That sanction was part of an order handed down Thursday by the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline.
In addition, Tranquilli, who resigned the day before his misconduct trial was slated to start, is not allowed to run for judicial office again.
The order says that Tranquilli’s “resignation and pledge not to ever serve as a judge again are binding and irrevocable.”
The order brings to an end Tranquilli’s case with that body
Tranquilli, who was elected to the bench in 2013 after a long career in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, was accused in January of referring to a Black female juror as “Aunt Jemima” during a meeting in chambers with attorneys on the case.
The lawyers referred the incident to the Judicial Conduct Board, which launched a months-long investigation.
In August, the board filed a formal complaint against Tranquilli alleging six separate misconduct counts that occurred in both family and criminal court.
Included in the allegations were that he spoke in Ebonics to a Black couple involved in a custody case and that he spoke inappropriately to defendants before him.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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