The Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline is considering whether Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Scott DiClaudio should be permanently removed over an alleged effort to influence a colleague’s handling of a criminal case. The panel heard two days of testimony; it has not announced a decision, and any final sanction may be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
What the panel must assess
The central dispute concerns a June 12, 2025, encounter involving Judge Zachary Shaffer, who was scheduled to sentence Dwayne Jones on illegal gun-possession charges connected to a fatal shooting. Shaffer testified that DiClaudio’s assistant brought him to DiClaudio’s courtroom, where DiClaudio showed him a paper identifying Jones and the upcoming court date. Shaffer understood DiClaudio’s subsequent remark as a suggestion to rule favorably for Jones. Shaffer reported the exchange the next morning and recused himself from the case, according to the Inquirer.
The accounts differ. DiClaudio denied summoning Shaffer and said he had told Jones that Shaffer was a good judge who would do the right thing. DiClaudio acknowledged that his remark to Shaffer was improper, but said he did not intend to affect the sentence and characterized the episode as a misunderstanding. The Inquirer also reported that an audio recording captured DiClaudio asking whether Shaffer was on the bench before the assistant went to get him.
The Judicial Conduct Board’s account links the episode to the Roots Picnic earlier that month, where DiClaudio said he spent time backstage with rapper Meek Mill. Jones approached DiClaudio there and mentioned his upcoming sentencing before Shaffer, the Inquirer reported. The board believes Jones was a friend of Meek Mill; that reported connection does not itself establish why DiClaudio spoke to Shaffer. Prosecutor Elizabeth Hoffheins argued that the timing—three days before sentencing—was significant and that the board did not need to prove a motive. DiClaudio’s lawyer asked the panel for leniency.
Other disciplinary matters are separate
DiClaudio has a prior disciplinary record, but the earlier matters involved different conduct. In 2020, the Court of Judicial Discipline found he violated judicial rules by failing to report debts on financial disclosure forms and by defying orders to pay overdue fitness-club bills. He received a two-week unpaid suspension and probation through January 2026, the Inquirer reported. Those findings are part of his history; they do not establish whether the current sentencing-pressure allegations are true.
The allegations concerning his wife’s cheesesteak shop, Shay’s Steaks, are another distinct proceeding. The Judicial Conduct Board says it filed formal charges on April 29, 2025, alleging violations of the judicial code and Pennsylvania Constitution based on DiClaudio’s promotion of the business. The board’s release says he is presumed innocent in that case and that the charges must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. Those shop allegations are not the June 2025 sentencing allegations. The board’s release sets out the separate case.
DiClaudio also sought voter retention for a second ten-year term in November 2025 while disciplinary matters were pending. The retention vote proceeded separately from the Court of Judicial Discipline’s review, WHYY reported. The panel’s ruling on the present case—and whether it finds the allegations proven and what sanction, if any, is warranted—remains unresolved.
