A Pennsylvania judge is in the hot seat for reportedly spewing a racial epithet, and now he's facing the consequence.

On January 22, Judge Mark Tranquilli of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, became irate when a jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" at the conclusion of a drug-related trial that lasted for two weeks. In a private meeting in chambers with assistant district attorney Ted Dutowski and defense attorney Joe Otte, the judge asked Dutowski why he allowed a Black woman to be a member of the jury, reports HuffPost.

"You weren’t out of strikes when you decided to put Aunt Jemima on the jury," the Allegheny County Common Pleas judge allegedly said.

He then purportedly followed up with "You know darn well that when she goes home to her baby daddy, he’s probably slinging heroin, too."

The judge was also displeased about the juror's disposition as he recounted a "scowl" she had on her face, her choice of wearing a headdress and her crossed arms.

According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the defendant was convicted of simple possession and was being retried on a count of possession with intent to deliver following a hung jury. After a two-day trial, the jury rendered the verdict.

Tranquilli was said to have read the slip that noted the jury's decision, then toss it back to his minute clerk.

Dutowski was so disturbed by the language and behavior of the judge during their meeting he moved to file a complaint with President Judge Kim Berkley Clark. On February 4, Tranquilli was reassigned to summary appeals per order from Clark, according to KDKA.

There is no official record of the meeting since it was held behind closed doors without a court stenographer or court reporter present.

Tranquilli previously worked as the deputy district attorney in charge of the homicide unit. In 2013, he was elected to the bench. During his tenure as an attorney, Tranquilli built his reputation due to his prosecution of several high-profile cases including that of Richard Poplawski. Poplawski was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for killing three Pittsburgh police officers.

In a letter, Tim Stevens, chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project in Pittsburgh, called for the judge to be suspended.

"We ask that Judge Mark Tranquilli not be allowed to practice his racist attitudes on any future cases in Allegheny County, and that he be immediately removed from any active service for the courts of Allegheny," Stevens said.

Tranquilli is currently presiding over magistrate cases ranging from traffic fines to truancy as he carries out his administrative duties.

Both Dutowski and Otte have not commented on the details of the appeal against Tranquilli.

According to Savannah Now, the Allegheny County Bar Association has requested a thorough investigation of the incident by the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania.

Mark-Tranquilli

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