Traffic Court

They looked like judges, they sounded like judges, and they were sitting on the Traffic Court bench in black robes. And so, on the basis of a legal principle known as the "de facto doctrine," the state Supreme Court and lawyers for its administrative office have decided to let stand Philadelphia traffic cases against almost 1,700 motorists. The judges in question were retired, or "senior," judges, but they did not have legal authority from the Supreme Court when they heard the Traffic Court cases in May. The decision to let the cases stand is in sharp contrast to the high court's actions in May, when the snafu came to light.

Thousands of Traffic Court decisions are being thrown out because President Judge George Twardy - disobeying a state Supreme Court order - permitted retired judges to hear cases even though they had no power to do so. "What Twardy has done is crazy if not criminal," an angry state Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Papadakdos said of this latest Traffic Court embarrassment. "What he did is like pulling four people straight off the street and saying, 'Here, you decide these cases,' " Papadakos said.

In a quest to improve "court decorum," Philadelphia Traffic Court President Judge George Twardy swore in 20 newly appointed court officials yesterday, giving them badges and uniforms. "The court did not present proper decorum in the past to the public," Anthony Novasitis, Twardy's special counsel, said yesterday. "Decorum - this is what Judge Twardy is striving for. " Until yesterday, the five traffic courtrooms had been staffed by court clerks. They were charged with maintaining the paperwork related to cases, Novasitis said.

Traffic Court is Philadelphia's judicial backwater. A safe place to stash party hacks, generate patronage jobs and fix tickets or throw out cases to earn favors. This practice - by both parties - has had a corrosive effect. The Daily News series "Hell on Wheels," in February, spelled it out: 61 percent of traffic tickets are ignored; the court has a backlog of $335 million in unpaid tickets. Violators ignore tickets and court appearances because there's no way to compel them to pay. Police, frustrated by the court's incompetence, have curtailed enforcement.

Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Willie Singletary, suspended for allegedly showing a camera phone photo of his genitals to an employee, has submitted his resignation. Court of Common Pleas Judge Gary S. Glazer, the acting administrative judge of Traffic Court, said Singletary submitted his resignation by iPhone. However, Glazer said that under state law a judge must resign directly to the governor, which means Singletary will have to resubmit his resignation to Gov. Corbett for it to take effect.

It would be a moving violation of sorts to walk into a polling place on Tuesday and cast a vote for Willie Singletary. Singletary, 26, a pastor in Southwest Philadelphia, is a Democratic nominee for city Traffic Court. And while Singletary is intimately familiar with Traffic Court, it's from the wrong side of the bench. A motorcycle enthusiast, Singletary has managed to get his license suspended through 2011. At one point he owed the court more than $11,000 for 55 violations, including reckless driving, driving without a license, and driving without insurance.

After a frequently stormy 2 1/2-hour meeting yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Nicholas P. Papadakos and Traffic Court President Judge George Twardy emerged with a scaled-down estimate for reducing the Traffic Court budget. Papadakos, who earlier this week trimmed the Municipal Court budget by $1 million, said that the minimum budget cut for Traffic Court will be the equivalent of 50 positions, about $1.5 million. That's about half of what Papadakos last week estimated he could cut from Traffic Court.

Joseph C. Hartdegen, a former Traffic Court security guard, has been arrested in connection with a ticket-fixing scheme. Police spokesman Ed Tenuto said Hartdegen, 24, was arrested Monday afternoon after the district attorney's office approved the warrant. Hartdegen was charged with theft, attempted theft, tampering with public records, tampering with evidence, and impersonating a public servant. Court sources said the investigation centers on tickets from each police district that were gathered in locked canvas bags and stored in a hallway outside the police office in Traffic Court.

In the last days of his administration, Gov. Thornburgh has considered naming a Republican to a full five-year term as president judge of Philadelphia's problem-plagued Traffic Court, court sources said yesterday. The sources said that the governor has been weighing whether to appoint George Twardy, 58, a former bail bondsman and city magistrate who has been a Traffic Court judge since 1971. He would replace President Judge Salvatore DeMeo, who has been serving without a fixed term at the governor's pleasure.

While a justice of the state Supreme Court did battle with the president judge of Traffic Court last week, a familiar old presence - confusion - seemed to rule there. Management at Traffic Court is in such a state of haze and fragmentation that the chief clerk was fired by President Judge George Twardy one day and ordered rehired the next by Supreme Court Justice Nicholas P. Papadakos. Both men claimed to be in charge. Neither bowed to the other's will. At the end of the week, it wasn't clear whether chief clerk Royal D. Hart, who was at his desk Friday, was fired or rehired.

THOMAS NIBLACK liked to say he put the "b" in bop. This fun-loving guy enjoyed testing his prowess at interpreting that musical style on the dance floor every chance he got, and he obviously thought highly of his ability to do so. Although he liked to have fun, Tom Niblack had a serious side as pastor of two Baptist churches and as founder of the Segula Ministries in 2008. He was a 19-year employee of Traffic Court while pursuing his religious commitments, and one of his jobs was to boot the cars of motorists with long-overdue traffic fines.

The 21-year career of Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Bernice DeAngelis has come to a quiet but definitive end after state court officials said her services as senior judge were no longer needed. Common Pleas Court Judge Gary S. Glazer - named Traffic Court's administrative judge in December in a reform move by the state Supreme Court - confirmed DeAngelis' April 20 departure in a Friday phone interview. Glazer declined to elaborate, saying, "All senior judges serve at the pleasure of the Supreme Court.

Proposals for reshaping Philadelphia Traffic Court may include a requirement that judges have legal experience. None of the court's current judges has a law degree. The dramatic change is an idea being deliberated by Common Pleas Court Judge Gary S. Glazer, appointed in December to shake up Traffic Court operations. In an interview, Glazer, a former federal prosecutor, called the court's current structure "uniquely Philadelphian. " Glazer was made administrative judge of Traffic Court in December after state Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille said judges had "institutionalized" the practice of out-of-court, or ex parte, communications.

The most sought-after elected office in Philadelphia isn't mayor, City Council, sheriff, or state representative. It's Traffic Court judge. Thirteen candidates ran for one seat on the bench in 2011. In 2007, 15 people scrambled for three open spots. The post does not require a law license, and none of the Traffic Court judges has one. It pays $89,000 and is likely a job for life. To win requires support from the city's Democratic ward organization, money from the region's construction trades, and luck.

Friends, Philadelphia is a magic place where anyone - even you! - can become a judge, provided you know the right people in mediocre places. Which would be the political hackatorium known as the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee. Why bother attending law school with all those books and stress? At the junkyard known as Traffic Court, no elected judge has a law degree. College? Optional. But remembering friends when it comes to fixing tickets? Essential. In 2007, Judge Willie F. Singletary handily won election to the bench by virtue of that most estimable criterion: His name, selected by lottery, appeared atop the ballot.

Just days after Willie Singletary resigned from his post as a Traffic Court judge, the state Judicial Conduct Board on Thursday filed a complaint against him alleging conduct unbecoming of a judge. The board accuses him of showing a female cashier two photos of his genitals in an aroused state and posing the question: "Like that?" The state Supreme Court in January suspended Singletary without pay as a result of the allegations. On Monday, Singletary, 30, sent an e-mail officially resigning his post, said his attorney, John S. Summers.

IT CAN BE awkward, trying to make small talk with a cute girl in the office. Some guys try to be Don Draper-cool. Some break the ice with a well-timed joke. Other guys, like Traffic Court Judge Willie Singletary, go for the always reliable this-will-probably-cost-me-my-job approach. After allegedly showing a young, female Traffic Court cashier in December two cellphone pictures of his erect penis, Singletary cooed, "Do you like that?" according to documents released yesterday by the state Judicial Conduct Board.

Traffic Court Judge Willie Singletary, suspended for allegedly showing a phone-camera photo of his genitals to an employee, has submitted a resignation. Common Pleas Court Judge Gary S. Glazer, the acting administrative judge of Traffic Court, said Singletary submitted his resignation by iPhone. Glazer said, however, that under state law, a judge must resign directly to the governor, so Singletary would have to resubmit his resignation to Gov. Corbett. Glazer declined to provide the contents of Singletary's resignation e-mail, received this week.

Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Willie Singletary, suspended for allegedly showing a camera phone photo of his genitals to an employee, has submitted his resignation. Court of Common Pleas Judge Gary S. Glazer, the acting administrative judge of Traffic Court, said Singletary submitted his resignation by iPhone. However, Glazer said that under state law a judge must resign directly to the governor, which means Singletary will have to resubmit his resignation to Gov. Corbett for it to take effect.