Pa. high court nominee in hot seat over 'Christmas' email

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Pa. high court nominee in hot seat over 'Christmas' email
| February 20, 2015 | Updated: February 20, 2015 3:39pm

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A white county judge nominated for Pennsylvania's highest court apparently forwarded a racially insensitive email showing a black couple talking through glass via a jailhouse phone under the heading, "Merry Christmas from the Johnsons."

Centre County Judge Thomas Kistler told The Philadelphia Inquirer in a story posted Friday (http://bit.ly/1MF1doN) he did not remember sending the email in December 2013 to more than 20 people, including lawyers, the county prosecutor and people who work in the criminal justice system.

Kistler did not deny sending the image, which is readily available online, but told the paper if he did, it would not have been intended to mock black people. He said the message would have been, "Christmas goes on, even for the people we put in jail."

Senate leaders recommended Kistler, a Republican, and Duquesne Law School dean Ken Gormley, a Democrat, to fill two high court vacancies, including one created by the abrupt resignation of Justice Seamus McCaffery over distribution of pornographic emails last year.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Pa-high-court-nominee-in-hot-seat-over-6092130.php

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Did Supreme Court nominee send insensitive email?




Angela Couloumbis, Craig R. McCoy and Robert Moran, Inquirer Staff Writers
Last updated: Friday, February 20, 2015, 10:33 AM
Posted: Friday, February 20, 2015, 10:19 AM


The central Pennsylvania judge nominated by Gov. Wolf to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court may have distributed an e-mail that could be viewed as racially insensitive.

Thomas K. Kistler, president judge of Centre County Court, said he could not recall but did not deny forwarding an e-mail in December 2013 titled "Merry Christmas From The Johnsons" that depicted a black man and black woman during what appears to be a jail visit. The man, smiling and wearing an orange prison uniform, sits behind a glass window.

The e-mail, obtained by The Inquirer, also includes cartoon depictions of Santa Claus and reindeer.
It wasn't immediately clear if the message was sent from the judge's judicial account. Its subject line reads: "Touching and heartwarming. Merry Christmas to ALL! JK."

~ snip ~

Kistler and Ken Gormley, dean and professor at the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, were nominated by Wolf this month to fill high-court vacancies resulting from the retirements of Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille and Justice Seamus McCaffery.
McCaffery stepped down last fall amid an investigation into e-mails he sent from a private account that contained sexually-explicit content.

More:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20150221_Did_Supreme_Court_nominee_send_insensitive_email_.html#j3mETHEpyGQYGVWH.99

[jberryhill]

1. The card in question

Is it not "touching and heartwarming"?



I'm curious to know whether it is a real Christmas card sent by the couple in the picture.

He's in jail, she's visiting, and they nonetheless wanted to send a photo greeting card for Christmas.

Snopes status is "undetermined":

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/photos/xmascard.asp

If I was in jail, I'd do that.

"Christmas goes on, even for the people we put in jail." - I think it is difficult to determine the judge's intent on the basis of calling this "touching and heartwarming". I'd want to know more about the judge, I guess.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Interesting seeing his actual image. Hard to imagine a racist mocking them, isn't it?

Racists never take the opportunity to make fun of people in dire straights. They are just too decent to do that, aren't they?