The practice has become institutionalized in court operations, Castille said, and is a violation of the state Code of Judicial Conduct. He said there was an "ingrained culture of adjusting these tickets and not giving the city or citizens a fair shake."
The result was a loss of revenue for the city and state, Castille said, from traffic tickets "not adjudicated properly."
Sullivan's attorney, Henry E. Hockeimer Jr., called the action against the elected judge "both surprising and disappointing."
"Judge Sullivan has done nothing wrong," Hockeimer said, adding that he wanted to see the report submitted to the Supreme Court by an outside consultant, Chadwick Associates.
"We certainly hope that this move is not being driven by politics or some other agenda," Hockeimer said.
Sullivan was appointed to the administrative post this year by the Supreme Court, but soon thereafter the FBI raided his home and office. That raid prompted a review of the court's operation and the action Monday, approved by the seven Supreme Court justices, Castille said.
Sullivan will continue to serve as a judge but will not run the court. He was first elected in 2005 to a six-year term, and was reelected this year. The post does not require any legal education, and pays about $86,500 a year.
Traffic Court will now be run by Court of Common Pleas Judge Gary S. Glazer, who as a federal prosecutor played a key role in a 1980s judicial corruption probe.
Glazer and Castille said they had to change a "culture" inside Traffic Court that has made it routine to accept requests for special treatment from "political sources."
"It's not going to be done overnight," Glazer said.
