Penn students who took "The Effect of Violence, Crime and Delinquency on Community Health" last summer may have gotten more than they bargained for when politics were introduced into the foray. In a report filed by Kevin Vaughn, then-chief of the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission, he alleges that Municipal Court Judge Seamus McCaffery made inappropriate statements about the upcoming Republican National Convention while addressing the Penn class. On July 19, both McCaffery and Vaughn were part of a panel speaking to the class, which was assembled at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In his report, Vaughn detailed that when McCaffery was asked about the convention, he said that the judges had met and made a plan to hold any arrested protesters for three days. Lawyers from the R2K Legal Collective, an activist group, have filed a motion to recuse McCaffery from convention-related cases, partly based on these statements. The R2K lawyers allege that making such a statement violates the impartiality that is required of judges through the Code of Judicial Conduct. "It's been a struggle to get other witnesses besides Kevin Vaughn," R2K activist Kris Hermes said. "[Penn] successfully quashed the subpoena to give information prior to the hearing." University Counsel Brenda Fraser did not return a phone call for comment. And in an e-mail statement, Penn Professors Tony Rostain and Jon Pletcher refused to discuss the allegations. "We are deeply concerned that we would jeopardize the integrity of this academic activity were we to discuss anything about what a guest said to our class," they wrote in the statement. R2K activist William Beckler said that, although Penn has had every opportunity to contact students from the class, they have not yet done so -- instead claiming that such information is confidential. Two RNC demonstrators who are scheduled to appear before McCaffery have also filed a motion to remove him from the case. "McCaffery's current involvement with the Fraternal Order of Police and his history as a Philadelphia police officer makes him highly partial," according to defendant Danielle Redden's statement. "Much of our defense rests on the messages we were attempting to convey during the Convention, including an end to police brutality and the death penalty." Court testimony revealed that McCaffery has signed search warrants during FOP meetings. "We feel that McCaffery cannot objectively rule on these types of proceedings," Redden added.
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