HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on an effort to impeach four justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
The Republican majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is distancing himself from an effort by some of his members to impeach four Democratic state Supreme Court justices over their ruling in a congressional redistricting case.
House Majority Leader Dave Reed says disagreement over the outcome of any particular case shouldn’t be grounds for impeachment.
Twelve Republican members in the 203-seat House signed onto impeachment resolutions that were introduced earlier this week against the four justices.
The Republican chief justice of the state Supreme Court says he’s very concerned about the impeachment move.
Democrats on the state’s highest court threw out a GOP-crafted congressional district map in January, and last month imposed their own map for this year’s races.
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2:50 p.m.
The Republican chief justice of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court says he’s “very concerned” about an effort by House Republicans to impeach four Democratic justices over their rulings in a congressional redistricting case.
Chief Justice Thomas Saylor said Thursday impeachment threats based on a particular case are an attack on the independent judiciary.
Saylor’s comments come two days after 12 House Republicans introduced resolutions seeking to impeach four justices.
The 12 co-sponsors are among the chamber’s more conservative members.
A House Republican caucus spokesman has said judicial impeachment isn’t a decision to be made lightly, and members haven’t had a discussion about it.
Democrats hold a 5-to-2 majority on the state Supreme Court.
The Democrats voted together in January to throw out a Republican-crafted congressional district map, calling it an unconstitutional gerrymander.
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