In response to the breaking news of Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams’ guilty plea in his federal corruption case and subsequent resignation announcement, Chancellor Deborah R. Gross today issued the following statement on behalf of the 12,000 members of the Philadelphia Bar Association:
“It was time for District Attorney Seth Williams to do right by Philadelphia and resign. The hard work of those professionals in the Office of the District Attorney should not be tainted by the actions of one individual.
“The integrity of our justice system is threatened when those who are elected to positions of trust and authority abuse those privileges.
“It has been a travesty to have our two highest law officers in the Commonwealth be able to maintain their positions while operating with suspended law licenses.
“Our legislature must act to prevent this anomaly from occurring in the future. We need legislation that would require district attorneys to have an active law license throughout the tenure of their position.”
