Candidate for district judge had law license suspended
A Sheffield man running for district justice in Warren County calls his currently suspended law license a “miscommunication.”
John M. Kasaback’s law license was suspended for three years on March 28, 2013, after the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recommended it. A Petition of Discipline alleged that he neglected legal matters, failed to communicate properly with clients, and engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.
Kasaback told the Times Observer on Monday that it was “a bad situation.”
“Long story short, I irritated a federal judge in Johnstown,” he said. “It was nitpicky stuff. I just didn’t contact who I needed to contact.”
Reports from the Disciplinary Board outline multiple matters that Kasaback was disciplined for. Two reports detail that Kasaback did not communicate with a client who had retained his services. One case occurred in 2009, while another took place in 2011. Another mentions that Kasaback appeared at a preliminary hearing in 2010 on behalf of a client despite being administratively suspended at the time. Kasaback also received a pair of Informal Admonitions from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in 2002.
These matters led to Kasaback’s 2013 suspension.
Despite the current suspension of his license running out in March 2016, Kasaback says he has not applied to have the suspension lifted.
“If I jumped through the hoops that I needed to, it (the lifting of the suspension) would get approved,” he said. “When it happened, I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. After 28 years in the practice, I was burnt out. It was a good time to get out of the practice.”
The suspension of Kasaback’s license does not disqualify him from running for district justice. Candidates for district justice do not have to be practicing attorneys. They must be 21 years of age, be a resident of the Commonwealth and be a resident of the district for one year prior to the election. Kasaback qualifies based on these rules.
When Kasaback was suspended in 2013, the report by the Disciplinary Board said, “What is abundantly clear is that the Respondent (Kasaback) needs to be removed from the practice of law for a long enough period of time to make an impression upon him…”
Kasaback says that impression has hit home.
“When I learned of the opening for district justice, I decided it was time for me to get back in the game,” Kasaback said. “This is a dream opportunity for me.”
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