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PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Former Phila. Traffic Court judge caught up in lewd photo scandal officially removed from office

Willie f. singletary

The former Philadelphia traffic court judge who showed a cellphone image of his genitals

to a female court staffer will no longer serve as a jurist in Pennsylvania.

The state’s Court of Judicial Discipline on Dec. 13 issued an order officially removing Willie F. Singletary from office.

The ruling comes on the heels of accusations that Singletary showed a cell phone picture of his erect penis to a female cashier working the night shift at Philadelphia’s Traffic Court last year.

Singletary was removed from his duties as a Traffic Court judge in late 2011 by the court’s administrative judge; he officially resigned from his post on his own earlier this year.

Pennsylvania’s Judicial Conduct Board levied charges against Singletary in March.

It was those charges that CJD finally ruled on last week.

The CJD ruling came in the form of a mere paragraph-long per curiam order.

Singletary was issued a reprimand by the CJD in early October in which the disciplinary court determined that the jurist had engaged in conduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute.

The CJD had determined that Singletary’s actions had violated certain sections of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Singletary had begun his stint on Philadelphia’s Traffic Court in January 2008.

Even before the penis-photo-showing incident, Singletary landed himself in the public eye for other controversial acts.

While running for Traffic Court judge, Singletary was caught on video telling members of a biker rally that they would likely receive favorable treatment from Singletary if they ran afoul of traffic laws if they would simply support his candidacy for judgeship.

Singletary also made the news when it was learned that he had amassed more than $11,000 in traffic tickets, and was subject to a suspended drivers’ license, prior to being elected Traffic Court judge.

Singletary eventually paid the fines and had his license restored.

The Associated Press on Dec. 14 quoted Singletary’s attorney, John Summers, as saying that the photo incident was a “one-time, accidental mistake,” and that Singletary has moved on with his life, namely by getting married this year.

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