DAILY NEWS: Seamus McCaffery, a former Philadelphia police officer elected in 2007 to the state’s highest court, is retiring today, one week after four of his fellow justices voted to suspend him from the bench. The Supreme Court, in an order lifting McCaffery’s suspension, confirmed his resignation. McCaffery, 64, has been in a long and rancorous feud with fellow Philadelphian, Chief Justice Ron Castille, who must step down on Dec. 31 because he has reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. Castille was one of the four votes to suspend McCaffery last Monday after another justice, J. Michael Eakin all but accused McCaffery of extortion a week before. McCaffery was snared in the porn scandal that has been blossoming at the state Attorney General’s Office, leading to the resignations of four former top deputies to Gov. Corbett. Castille had pushed to release details about explicit emails McCaffery had sent and received. Eakin, in a complaint filed with the state Judicial Conduct Board on Oct. 17, said McCaffery had urged him to get Castille to back down on his public statements about the porn. Eakin also alleged that McCaffery said he was “not going down alone” and mentioned explicit and racist emails Eakin received, which were later leaked to the Daily News. MORE
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