Philly Judge Faces Ethics Complaint Over Cheesesteaks

A Philadelphia judge's role in a cheesesteak shop owned by his wife has prompted a panel to allege that he has violated the state's ethics rules. The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board filed a complaint on Tuesday against Common Pleas Judge Scott DiClaudio over Shay's Steaks, a high-end cheesesteak restaurant that opened more than a year ago a few blocks from city hall. "This complaint is such a farce," DiClaudio, who is acting as his own lawyer, tells the AP. "People do not come to Shay's because a judge may make their cheesesteak. ... I have a support role, which I'm permitted to have." In a podcast interview cited by the board, DiClaudio discussed decisions about pricing, ingredients, salary levels for employees, and competing restaurants.

Lately, he says, health issues and the demands of having a young child have limited his time in the business. But the board complaint notes that news coverage of the restaurant in Philadelphia, where cheesesteaks are the subject of perpetual public interest, has mentioned he is a judge. One story referred to him as "whiz honor"—a reference to the use of Cheez Whiz on some cheesesteaks. If anything, DiClaudio says, his role in the restaurant may be improving the image of judges in the minds of his fellow Philadelphians, giving them "confidence in the judiciary—that we're not all robots." He says Shay's Steaks has never used an image of him in judicial robes or described him as a judge in advertising materials, that he's never been paid for his work there, and that the profits go to his wife.

DiClaudio is accused of falling short of a requirement that judges always act in a way that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary. Another allegation is that he violated a rule that judges "not abuse the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic interests of the judge or others, or allow others to do so. County judges such as DiClaudio may not have other employment that would in any way interfere with their judicial duties and responsibilities, says one prominent judicial ethics lawyer, though he says it's not clear whether that's the case here. (More Philadelphia stories.)