In re Ballentine, 121 A.3d 611

Judge Ballentine, Lancaster County Magisterial District Judge, faced probation-violation and a new complaint for failing to file tax returns, failing to remit sales tax, and a sales-tax-license violation; admitted the factual basis for the misconduct.
During probation, she presided over cases involving tax issues and a prior misconduct finding related to dismissing her own traffic citations.
A combined hearing on February 5, 2015 addressed probation violations, the new complaint, and sanctions.
She admitted to dismissing traffic citations in 2010–2011 and was previously suspended and placed on probation (2013–2014) following a Judicial Conduct Board proceeding.
Walk-In-Style Fashion Footwear, owned and operated by Ballentine, had tax-license issues, with sales tax filings and licenses at issue between 2009 and 2012.
She ultimately filed and paid some taxes late, and the Board questioned her about tax compliance during probation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Ballentine violated Rule 2A by tax failures	Board: violations of both federal and state tax laws show unlawful conduct	Ballentine: pre-Carney conduct cannot be used to conclude Rule 2A violation; some acts were remedied	Ballentine violated Rule 2A (clear and convincing)
Whether violations support a derivative violation of Article V, §17(b)	Board: Rule 2A violations entail constitutional canons for judges	Ballentine: derivative theory applies; but pre-Carney conduct should be considered carefully	Violation of Article V, §17(b) established
Whether the conduct constitutes disrepute under Article V, §18(d)(1)	Board: cumulative misconduct brings judiciary into disrepute	Ballentine: not egregious enough to bring disrepute; some acts were negligent, not intentional	Disrepute established by cumulative misconduct

In re Carney, 79 A.3d 490 (Pa. 2013) (off-bench conduct can support Rule 2A violations, with Carney guiding due-process notice constraints)
In re Cicchetti, 697 A.2d 297 (Pa.Ct.Jud.Disc.1997) (case-by-case determination of whether conduct brings disrepute)
In re Smith, 687 A.2d 1229 (Pa.Ct.Jud.Disc.1996) (disrepute standard and public confidence considerations)