Pennsylvania Judge’s Conflict of Interest Nullifies Tax Rulings

A company that owns several hospitals in Delaware County, Pa., convinced a state appeals court to throw out several property tax rulings made by a judge who had already started receiving a salary from his future job.

Judge John L. Braxton upheld dozens of assessments on Prospect Crozer LLC properties after he assumed a position on the Philadelphia Board of Revision of Taxes.

His orders must be vacated because the state constitution bars judges from holding “an office or position of profit in the government,” the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled Wednesday. “The offices of ...