PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A pair of attorneys have resigned from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office weeks after a judge referred the district attorney and a top official to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation.
Attorneys Katie Ernst and Steven Wildberger were supervisors in the law division. Weeks after testifying that District Attorney Larry Krasner directed them to “protect the office” or face consequences as they worked on a federal appeal to overturn a 2009 murder conviction, they quit.
The two were working on correcting the appeal after another former ADA had filed a document full of errors and misstatements. They were among several witnesses who testified about how Krasner handled the appeal and a possible conflict of interest.
Last month, Eastern District Judge Paul Diamond wrote an opinion pointing out possible misconduct and believed the office had a conflict in the case. Krasner disputed that opinion and filed a document saying it is the judge who should recuse himself.
The district attorney also called Ernst and Wildeberger insubordinate, as they filed certain motions with the court about those conflicts of interest.
Neither Wildeberger or Ernst could be reached for comment, and Krasner’s office declined to comment.
