Legal News

DA's Office Won't Prosecute Berry, Who Will Return to Hear Criminal Cases

By Brian Harris

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office will not file criminal charges against Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Willis W. Berry Jr. for running his real estate business out of his judicial chambers, District Attorney Lynne Abraham announced in a press release Thursday evening.

The announcement clears Berry's return to the criminal division, Trial Division Administrative Judge D. Webster Keogh said.

Berry was suspended from the bench for four months by the Court of Judicial Discipline for bringing the judicial office into disrepute by handing his rental properties out of his chambers, including having his judicial secretary handle the real estate business.

 Berry's attorney, Samuel C. Stretton, said the judge completed his suspension this week and is taking vacation time until Jan. 4. Prior to his suspension, Berry recused himself from hearing criminal cases. The District Attorney's Office asked Berry to recuse himself from hearing criminal cases because the Court of Judicial Discipline's opinion stated Berry had committed a '"crime'" by diverting his secretary's time and the other resources of his public office to a private venture.

Abraham scored the CJD in her press release, saying the punishment meted out to the judge was a mere "slap on the wrist," but said that if there was not clear and convincing evidence to remove Berry from office in the Court of Judicial Discipline, then there is not proof beyond reasonable doubt to convict him of theft of services in a criminal court.

Part of the reason there is not proof beyond reasonable doubt to convict Berry, the release said, is because the investigation proved that Berry compensated his former judicial secretary, Carolyn Fleming, from his personal bank account for her extra work, including paying her gas, electric, water, phone, cable and credit card bills. Berry paid about $25,000 of Fleming's expenses from 2003 to 2007, the release said.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on December 18, 2009 (boomark / email).