District judge's trial scheduled for February

Levittown - Susan McEwen was charged by Pennsylvania's judicial conduct board with allegedly reducing her grandson's fine for underage drinking.

A February trial date has been set for Lower Southampton's district judge who faces misconduct charges in Pennsylvania's court of judicial discipline.

In June, Susan McEwen was charged by Pennsylvania's judicial conduct board with allegedly reducing her grandson's fine for underage drinking and, in a separate incident, cursing at a police officer while she was serving as judge.

The trial will be open to the public and operates much like a regular court proceeding. It's scheduled for Feb. 16 in The Pennsylvania Judicial Center, which is the administrative building for the state's court system in Harrisburg, said Joseph A. Massa Jr., chief counsel for the judicial conduct board.

A panel of three judges from the judicial discipline court - none of whom are from Bucks County - has been appointed to hear the case. The judges will be expected to issue a ruling about six weeks later, Massa said.

Depending on the ruling, a sanction hearing then could be scheduled, during which all eight judges on the judicial discipline court could consider what action should be taken. The court could take no action or she could receive anything a public scolding to permanent removal from the bench.

Since being charged, McEwen filed a formal "answer" to the allegations against her in the court of judicial discipline.

In her answer, she denied cursing at a police officer because he asked her to sign a warrant at 4 a.m. while she was serving as the on-call district judge for Lower Bucks. But she conceded to an unintentional conflict of interest when she altered her grandson's court documents.

Her answer to the charges also stated that she believed no conflict existed because a copy of her grandson's underage drinking case, which was heard by another district judge, was mailed back to her court.

She reduced her grandson's fine because he didn't have the financial ability to pay because he had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, a chronic auto immune inflammatory disease, her filing stated.

Right after McEwen was charged, Bucks County's president judge put her on paid leave to ensure integrity, fairness and impartiality in Lower Southampton's district court, deputy court administrator Charles Carey said. McEwen earns $80,927 a year.

Serving in her place is Ruth Dietrich, who served as Perkasie's district judge until 2005, when she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

When someone is a charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, district judges arraign them on those charges, set bail and review the charges at preliminary hearings. For summary offenses, district judges conduct trials and impose sentences. They also decide civil matters when a dispute involves less than $8,000.

Even though her future is uncertain, McEwen made a taxpayer-funded trip to Harrisburg for annual district judge training in September, officials said. She and other district judges were updated on court matters, including new case law, the motor vehicle code and landlord-tenant issues.

McEwen's attorney, William "Skip" Arbuckle III, said it would be appropriate for McEwen to attend her training.

"Annual training is mandatory for [district judges]," Arbuckle said in September. "It makes sense that she go now, while she is not working, so that when she returns she can devote her time to court duties."

Ben Finley can be reached at 215-949-4203 or bfinley@phillyBurbs.com.

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