Prosecutors drop all charges against Philadelphia Family Court judge accused of assaulting wife and daughter
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office withdrew the case against Common Pleas Judge Michael Fanning, citing the women's wishes, a lack of injuries and documentation of 'extensive mitigation.'
By Aever Bundji ·
Prosecutors have withdrawn every charge against Philadelphia Family Court Judge Michael Fanning, who was arrested in March on accusations that he attacked his wife and his adult daughter at their home.
Fanning, a Common Pleas Court judge, had been charged with aggravated assault, strangulation and related offenses. Prosecutors alleged at the time that he repeatedly punched his wife in the face and choked her. They also said he dragged his 30-year-old daughter to the ground by her hair, cutting her face, during a fight at the family's East Torresdale home.
At a brief court hearing, Assistant District Attorney Brian Collins told the court that both women had been evaluated by medics and were found not to have suffered injuries. He said they did not want the prosecution to go forward.
Collins said that factor, together with the 'extensive mitigation' records Fanning gave to prosecutors and the court, led the District Attorney's Office to drop the case. He did not describe what the mitigation consisted of, and he declined to comment further on the decision.
Berks County Court Judge Jeffrey Sprecher, who was assigned the case to avoid any conflict of interest with Fanning's fellow Philadelphia judges, did not ask about the mitigation during the hearing.
The court record from March offers one possible clue. At a hearing that month, Fanning's wife said he had voluntarily entered a 30-day inpatient program to treat alcoholism, a problem the family had tried to address before.
Fanning did not testify at the latest hearing. He thanked the judge for the time and left the courtroom. His attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said Fanning would decline to comment.
Fanning joined the Common Pleas bench in 2014, appointed by then-Gov. Tom Corbett, and has served in Family Court throughout his time as a judge. He won a 10-year term in the 2015 election and was retained for another term in November.
Within days of his arrest, the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, which hears complaints against judges, suspended him without pay. It was not immediately clear how that disciplinary matter would proceed now that the criminal case has ended, or whether Fanning would be permitted to return to the bench.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
