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Leon W. Tucker
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2025
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Leon W. Tucker is a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania.[1]
Education
Tucker earned his undergraduate degree from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky.[2]
Elections
2015
- See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2015
Tucker was retained to Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas with 76.98 percent of the vote on November 3, 2015.[3]
Noteworthy cases
Judge grants appeal request for Mumia Abu-Jamal (2018)
On December 27, 2018, Judge Tucker granted an appeal request for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former member of the Blank Panther group.[4] In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.[5] Abu-Jamal was initially sentenced to death. His sentence was changed to life imprisonment in 2011. Motions to retry Abu-Jamal's case were rejected multiple times.[6]
Abu-Jamal's attorneys argued that Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Ronald Castille should have recused himself from presiding over Abu-Jamal's petitions to appeal. During Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial, Castille was an assistant district attorney who was not involved in the case. From 1986 to 1994, Castille served as Philadelphia district attorney. During that time, Castille "continued to serve as District Attorney throughout the preparation and litigation of [Abu-Jamal]'s pending death sentence direct appeal before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania," according to Tucker's ruling. After becoming a state supreme court justice in 1994, Castille did not recuse himself from presiding over petitions to appeal.[6] He retired from the court in 2014.
Tucker wrote that Castille should have recused himself. "The claim of bias, prejudice and refusal of former Justice Castille to recuse himself is worthy of consideration as true justice must be completely just without even a hint of partiality, lack of integrity or impropriety," Tucker wrote.[6] He also wrote, "The public expectation of impartial justice is necessary. The slightest appearance of bias or lack of impartiality undermines the entire judiciary, hence the mandate of not only propriety, but the appearance of propriety."[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Pennsylvania Administrative Office of the Courts, "Court of Common Pleas Judges," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ Martindale, "Judge Profile: Leon W. Tucker," accessed July 17, 2013
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Unofficial General Election Returns," November 3, 2015
- ↑ NPR, "Mumia Abu-Jamal Granted Right Of Appeal After Decades In Prison," December 28, 2018
- ↑ Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth v. Abu Jamal, October 8, 2003
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 WHY Y, "Judge: Mumia Abu-Jamal can reargue appeal in 1981 Philly police slaying," December 28, 2018
- ↑ The Grio, "Mumia Abu-Jamal granted partial appeals request because of bias," December 28, 2018
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