HARRISBURG — Supporters of embattled state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane called for a halt in proceedings to suspend her law license during a rally on Thursday at the state Capitol.
Some two dozen people, rallying under the banner Citizens4Kane, said they are supporting Kane in her effort to remain in office.
The group is circulating a petition asking the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court to step aside and let the judicial system play out in Kane’s criminal case. She faces charges tied to leaking secret grand jury material to a reporter.
Last month, the Supreme Court ordered Kane to respond to a petition to suspend her law license on an emergency basis because of the charges. A license suspension could leave Kane unable to function as attorney general. Kane’s attorneys have filed papers with the court arguing that suspending her law license while she is contesting the charges would violate her constitutional rights to due process.
“They (the disciplinary board) want to declare her guilty before she has her day in court,” Ceil Masella, Aston, who attended the rally, said.
If the disciplinary board removes Kane, it will violate her constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, Wendy Silverwood, West Chester, who also rallied in support of Kane, said. Silverwood read an emailed statement from Kane thanking the group for their support and vowing to fight for justice.
“Fear of the powers that be and silence hurts everybody,” Silverwood read.
Speakers drew a contrast between the criminal charges filed against Kane and the handling of the case of several one-time state prosecutors who distributed or received pornographic emails and objectionable emails with racial content while working in the state attorney’s office prior to Kane’s tenure.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said that Frank Fina, Marc Costanzo and Patrick Blessingtown, who now work for him, would keep their jobs but undergo sensitivity training as a result. Their names have surfaced in public disclosures of the emails. Kane is threatened with the loss of her job, while Fina gets sensitivity training, Masella said. Veteran activist Gene Stilp said the group is confusing the separate processes of a criminal trial and disciplinary procedures against attorneys. Stilp filed a complaint last month with the disciplinary board seeking action against Kane because of the charges.“She (Kane) is an officer of the court,” Stilp said. “She has to answer to it.”