President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to throw out a jury's finding in a civil lawsuit that he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s.
A Bradford County judge who was accused last fall of misconduct is now facing formal charges and a trial.
On Monday, Feb. 9, the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board filed formal charges in the Court of Judicial Discipline against Bradford County Magisterial District Justice Jonathan M. Wilcox.
Wilcox, who is based in Troy and whose district includes Troy, Canton and Alba boroughs and 14 western Bradford County townships, was suspended from his position last November pending outcome of the proceedings. He has served as magisterial district justice since March 2000.
In the initial complaint filed last fall, Wilcox reportedly presided over a matter involving a man and a woman who were each charged following an incident in December 2024 with summary harassment.
Wilcox allegedly met privately with the woman and gave her his cell phone number, and later texted her details about his personal life and pursued a romantic relationship with her.
"Time will only tell how this relationship will develop and to grow into. Please remember I am always here for you no matter the time of day or hour," Wilcox wrote to the woman in one text message. "Just text me later. I started missing you the moment you left the office."
Wilcox then dismissed the complaints without consulting with the state trooper who filed the charges, according to the accusations. The man involved in the matter reportedly wasn't even aware he was being charged with a summary offense.
Wilcox is also accused of instructing his staff to destroy the files related to the harassment cases.
In another matter, Wilcox is accused of sentencing a woman to jail time for multiple traffic offenses without first holding a payment determination hearing, in violation of judicial rules.
The Judicial Conduct Board also alleges in April 2024, Wilcox sent a letter on his judicial letterhead to Bradford County President Judge Maureen Beirne requesting the court grant his clerk a protection from abuse order.
Sending the letter on his official letterhead on behalf of his employee abused the prestige of his judicial office under the rules, the board accusation stated.
The state Attorney General's Office informed Wilcox he was the subject of an official investigation regarding the protection from abuse request, and Wilcox in turn failed to notify the chief justice and the Judicial Conduct Board he was under state investigation, as required by the rules, the complaint alleges.
In accordance with the rules which govern proceedings before the Court of Judicial Discipline, Wilcox has the right to respond to the charges, to obtain and inspect the evidence behind the allegations, and to a public trial before that court.
Upon completion of the trial, if the court determines any of the charges have been proven by clear and convincing evidence, it will schedule a hearing to determine what sanction, if any, should be imposed. Possible sanctions include censure, suspension, fine or removal from office.