PA Chief Justice: Court Has No Power To Remove AG Kane
By Tony Romeo
Harrisburg, Pa. (CBS) -- The chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court says it's not the court's role to determine if Kathleen Kane should remain in office and that the embattled attorney general can remain in office even though the court has decided to suspend her law license.
Appearing at a Press Club luncheon in Harrisburg, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Saylor indicated the court had no difficulty reaching a unanimous decision to suspend Attorney General Kane's law license, effective later next month, and that there was no deal to get Democrat members of the court on board.
But he said he has no opinion on whether Kane should resign, and said her potential removal from office is entirely up to the "political branches" of government…
"I think that there's provisions – once her license is suspended – for fairly competent people to run that office," says Saylor. "You know, the Commonwealth attorney's act says that first deputy attorney general, which I used to be, can run the office in the absence of the attorney general."
But Saylor acknowledges that there will be limitations on Kane's functions as attorney general when the license suspension takes effect.