Allegheny County judge barred from hearing cases after alleged racist remark about juror

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark Tranquilli has been barred from hearing cases, following accusations that he referred to a black female juror as “Aunt Jemima” in a conversation with attorneys on the case.

President Judge Kim Berkley Clark issued the court order regarding Tranquilli on Thursday.

The conversation took place several weeks ago, following the jury verdict in a case over which Tranquilli was presiding, according to a complaint filed by the case’s defense attorney.

Tranquilli could not be reached for comment.

Lori McMaster, president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, said an investigation by the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania is necessary.

“In remaining steadfast to the Allegheny County Bar Association’s mission and values, we have a duty to our members, our clients and the African-American and broader communities at large, to continue to take action to eliminate implicit and explicit racial bias in our legal system,” McMaster said in a statement Thursday.

The case involved a woman who was being retried for a charge of possession with intent to deliver. The jury had been split on that charge but returned a guilty verdict on a separate charge of simple drug possession.

The woman was found not guilty of possession with intent, a verdict that caused Tranquilli to become “visibly upset,” according to a written complaint from defense attorney Joe Otte that was obtained by the Tribune-Review.

“When he received the verdict slip, he read it and immediately tossed it back at his minute clerk,” according to the complaint.

Otte declined comment.

During sentencing, the judge is alleged to have commented on the woman’s criminal history in front of the jury, including referencing a federal sentence she is serving for manufacturing marijuana. The complaint said he also indicated he thought the woman was a drug dealer rather than a drug user.

Otte wrote in the complaint that Tranquilli asked him and the prosecutor, Ted Dutkowski, to have a conversation in chambers after sentencing — and after he had a private question-and-answer session with the jury.

Tranquilli voiced his unhappiness with the verdict to the attorneys and told Dutkowski he did a poor job of screening potential jurors, according to the complaint, telling him he made a “terrible decision allowing ‘Aunt Jemima’ on the jury.”

He said he knew there would be no conviction the moment the woman was selected, according to the complaint.

Otte’s complaint alleged that Tranquilli continued to refer to the woman, who wore a hair wrap throughout the trial, as “Aunt Jemima.” The judge alluded to the woman’s “baby daddy” and said he probably sells heroin and that made her sympathetic to drug dealers.

In a court order issued Monday, Clark assigned Tranquilli to hear only summary appeals cases effective immediately. The Thursday order moved him to administrative duties only.

Tim Stevens, chairman and chief executive officer of the Black Political Empowerment Project, called Tranquilli’s remarks “beyond disturbing.”

In a letter to Clark, he asked for the immediate suspension of Tranquilli.

“With his racist views on record, he need not be in a position to judge anyone or anything,” Stevens wrote.

He also asked her to use her influence to “strongly encourage the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board to move quickly and swiftly investigate this troubling case.”