PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has named Philadelphia lawyer Michael Untermeyer as special prosecutor to handle crimes committed on SEPTA in the city.
The announcement came just hours after a state court shot down Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s attempts to block a special prosecutor, which is required under Act 40, a Pennsylvania law passed and signed last year.
Krasner challenged the constitutionality of that law, saying it unfairly singles out Philadelphia and replaces an elected DA with an unelected official who is not accountable to residents. But a divided Commonwealth Court ruled against him.
Krasner says no matter what direction the court went, it was heading to Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
“We respectfully agree with the dissent that this is clearly, plainly and palpably an unconstitutional law,” he said.
In two of Krasner’s arguments, the majority opinion found he failed to cite specific constitutional provisions that were violated and said the state legislature created SEPTA, so it has the authority to regulate it.
The dissent from three of the seven judges says the wording of the law is too vague, and it violates the due process of criminal defendants.
Krasner says the law was never about public safety, but instead a Republican state legislature playing political games.
Senate Republican leader Joe Pittman says the legislation got broad bipartisan support and was signed by a Democratic governor.
The majority opinion says the special prosecutor is accountable to the Attorney General, and it doesn’t single out Philadelphia, as it’s worded to apply to any counties of the first class. Philadelphia is the only county of the first class in Pennsylvania.
Act 40 requires potential candidates to reside within Philadelphia County, have at least five years of criminal prosecution experience in the state, and not have been employed by Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office or the Office of Attorney General in the past six years, among other things.
Untermeyer has fifteen years of experience as a prosecutor, including serving as special counsel to the Office of Inspector General, Deputy and Senior Deputy Attorney General, and Assistant District Attorney. He also has four years of experience as a hearing examiner for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Untermeyer's last name. The current version reflects that change.