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Judge Accused of Ethics Violations While on Trial for Ethics Violations

By George Khoury, Esq. on October 16, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Just outside Pittsburgh, PA, Beaver County Magisterial District Judge Andrew Hladio may surely have found himself in a sort of judicial ethics pickle. It seems that while charges against him were pending in one ethics complaint with the state's judicial ethics board, he allegedly violated additional judicial ethics rules.

In the recently announced state judicial board complaint, it is alleged that he committed acts of retaliation against the complainants and witnesses to the ethics complaint that was initiated in 2016. And while the 2016 complaint may allege more egregious conduct, the alleged acts of retaliation would certainly call into question any judicial officer's ability to perform.

What's This All About?

In 2016, the Judicial Conduct Board filed a complaint against Judge Andrew Hladio that included allegations of "Improper Conduct Toward District Court Clerks," as well as "Improper Demeanor" allegations towards clerks, lawyers and litigants.

The improper conduct allegations not only include the same sort of improper demeanor allegations of yelling at people in his courtroom and generally being rude and discourteous, but also detail his repeated, persistent, and unsuccessful efforts to romantically win over a law clerk. Even after repeated counseling to leave a clerk alone and stop asking her personal questions and out on dates (which she always refused), he persisted like a cartoon skunk.

Judge Andrew Le Pew?

One might think that after having a judicial conduct board complaint filed against him, he might reconsider softening his bark and changing his ways. But like the skunk Looney Toons used to celebrate despite his clear sexual harassment, the most recent complaint against Judge Hladio charges him with retaliation against the witnesses in the 2016 complaint.

The retaliation took the form of complaints about those who planned to testify against him. His complaints ranged from employee misconduct/poor performance to charges of disability discrimination.

The most recent judicial board complaint explains that his charges and complaints were made without factual bases and appeared targeted at those who were involved in some way with the prior complaint. Judge Hladio was initially suspended for a few months as a result of the 2016 board complaint, however, that suspension lapsed in June and he was reinstated, though reported the prior charges are still pending. The newest complaint again seeks his suspension from the bench.

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