Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM RAMBO, Chief Judge. I. Introduction Before the court is a plethora of motions. There are four separate motions to dismiss filed on behalf of: (1) Defendants Senate of Pennsylvania and the individual Senators, (2) Defendants Judicial Conduct Board (“JCB”) and individual Judicial Conduct Board members, (3) Defendants Court of Judicial Discipline (“CJD”) and its individual members, (4) Defendants Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the individual justices thereof, and (5) Defendants Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts, Nancy Sobolevitch, and David Frankforter. In addition, also pending before the court are the Senate Defendants’ motion for costs pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(d) and to strike portions of the amended complaint and the JCB Defendants’ motion for sanctions under Rule 11. Furthermore, on July 15, 1996, Plaintiff Larsen filed a motion for partial summary judgment. In light of Defendants’ pending motions, on July 29, 1996, the court stayed briefing on Plaintiff’s motion. This memorandum and accompanying order will dispose of all motions presently pending before the court except for Larsen’s motion for partial summary judgment. II. Procedural and Factual History Plaintiff Larsen is a former Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Larsen was initially elected to the Supreme Court for a ten-year term commencing in January 1978. He was reelected for a second term beginning in 1988. This case arises out of Larsen’s removal from office in October 1993 based on allegations that he engaged in criminal activity. Larsen was removed from office by order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on October 28,1993, convicted on April 9, 1994 on two counts of criminal conspiracy under the Controlled Substances Act, impeached by the Senate on October 4, 1994, and removed from his position by the CJD on June 3, 1994. In this action, Larsen sues virtually every entity and individual which played a role in his removal from office. He claims, generally, various due process, First Amendment, and equal protection violations in the removal procedures afforded him. Larsen alleges the following facts in support of his claims. In or around 1988, the Judicial Inquiry and Review Board (“JIRB”) charged Larsen with several violations of Article 5, Section 17(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Section 17(b) provides that “justices and judges shall not engage in any activity prohibited by law and shall not violate any canon of legal or judicial ethics prescribed by the Supreme Court.” Pa. Const, art. 5, § 17(b). The JIRB investigated Larsen and on July 17, 1991 issued a report to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in which it found that Larsen, acting without improper motive, had created an appearance of impropriety by meeting ex parte with a trial judge presiding over a case pending in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. The JIRB recommended that Larsen be publicly reprimanded. In re Larsen, 532 Pa. 326, 616 A.2d 529 (1992). On October 14, 1992, the Supreme Court by Justices Zappala and Cappy, with Justice Papadakos dissenting, issued an order per curiam without opinion adopting the JIRB’s report and recommendation. Id. On November 24, 1992, Larsen served a petition for the disqualification and recusal of Justices Zappala and Cappy. Larsen served a “supplemental” petition on December 14, 1992, and a second “supplemental” petition on January 7, 1993. In his petitions, Larsen raised issues of partiality and improper motivation on the part of Justices Zappala and Cappy during the JIRB’s investigation of him and in deciding to adopt the JIRB’s report and recommendation. Larsen requested that Justices Zappala and Cappy recuse themselves or, in the alternative, that they be disqualified from considering the JIRB’s report and recommendation. Larsen also accused Chief Justice Nix of acting improperly by interfering in a pending trial in Lehigh County, and interfering in the defendant’s petition for allowance of appeal in that case. In response to Larsen’s allegations, former attorney general Earnest Preate, Jr. appointed two special counsels to investigate Larsen’s claims. Over the course of 1993, a grand jury heard testimony regarding Larsen’s allegations as well as the JIRB’s accusations against Larsen. The grand jury ultimately found two areas of alleged misconduct by Larsen: (1) that he systematically maintained a list of petitions for allowance of appeal to be given special handling by his staff, and (2) that he regularly obtained prescription medications for his own use by causing a physician to issue prescriptions in the names of members of his staff. On October 22, 1993, the grand jury recommended that criminal charges be brought against Larsen for his procurement of prescription drugs in the name of his staff members. On October 28, 1993, Larsen was charged with criminal conspiracy and multiple violations of the Controlled Substances Act. That same day, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court relieved Larsen “of any and all judicial and administrative responsibilities as a justice.” (Defs.’ Ex. B.) Larsen continued to receive his salary. In January 1993, while the grand jury was deliberating, Representative Christopher K. McNally filed a petition in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives calling for Larsen’s impeachment based on alleged violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct. On November 5, 1993, the grand jury’s report was made public. The grand jury report formed the basis for the Pennsylvania House of Representative’s and the JCB’s investigation of Larsen. The House Judiciary Committee requested and obtained copies of the transcripts of witnesses’ testimony and exhibits presented to the grand jury. On November 23, 1993, the House adopted House Resolution No. 205 authorizing the House Judiciary Committee to investigate Larsen’s conduct. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts held public hearings in conjunction with its investigation into the allegations against Larsen. On April 9, 1994, after a five day trial in the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas, a jury convicted Larsen of two counts of criminal conspiracy under the Controlled Substances Act. Thereafter, on April 22, 1994, the House Subcommittee voted to recommend to the entire House a resolution to impeach Larsen. On May 18, 1994, House Resolution 324 was introduced listing seven articles of impeachment against Larsen and on May 24, 1994 the House adopted Resolution 324. On June 6, 1994, the Senate received the articles of impeachment from the House Managers and pursuant to Article 10 of the Senate Rules of Practice and Procedure for impeachment trials, appointed a committee of six senators (“the Senate committee”) to conduct evidentiary hearings regarding the allegations against Larsen. Senator Robert Jubelirer, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, appointed Senators Stewart Green-leaf, Charles Lemmond, H. Craig Lewis, Jeannette Reibman, Tim Shaffer, and Hardy Williams to the committee. On June 20, 1994, Larsen filed an answer with new matter to the articles of impeachment. On June 30, 1994, Larsen filed an omnibus pretrial motion with the Senate, requesting that the Senate dismiss the action of the Senate committee and that his impeachment trial be held before the full Senate. Larsen also moved for a pretrial hearing before the full Senate, discovery, the recusal of certain Senators, a continuance, and the payment of attorney’s fees and costs. On August 8, 1994, the Senate committee commenced evidentiary hearings on the articles of impeachment. The committee concluded hearings on September 9, 1994. On September 20, 1994, the full Senate heard oral argument on Larsen’s pretrial motions and subsequently voted without debate to deny all of his motions. On September 27, 1994, the full Senate convened and heard closing arguments by the House Managers and Larsen’s counsel. Simultaneously, the Senate committee for the first time provided the individual Senators and Larsen’s counsel with a copy of its final report. The report contained a summary of evidence presented at the hearings. On October 4, 1994, the Senate voted on the seven articles of impeachment. The Senate voted forty-four to five to convict Larsen on article II. Article II charged Larsen with engaging in an ex parte communication with an attorney who was a friend and political supporter of his regarding two petitions for allowance of appeal the attorney had pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. At Larsen’s request, the attorney indicated the position he was advocating in each case. Larsen ultimately voted in accordance with the attorney’s stated positions. The Senate voted to acquit Larsen on the other six articles. The Senate then voted unanimously to bar Larsen from holding any office of trust or profit in Pennsylvania in the future. At the same time the House and Senate were proceeding against Larsen, the JCB was also investigating the allegations against him. The JCB is a twelve member board formed pursuant to Article 5, Section 18 of the Pennsylvania Constitution to investigate allegations of judicial misconduct. Pa. Const. Art. 5, § 18. In appropriate circumstances, the JCB may file a formal complaint with the CJD. The CJD is an eight member state administrative tribunal formed pursuant to Article 5, Section 18(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution to hear and determine charges of judicial misconduct. In January 1994, the JCB wrote Larsen and notified him that it was instituting an investigation into all of his activities as a Supreme Court Justice. On March 10,1994, JCB filed an application with the CJD for an interim order directing the suspension of Larsen with pay, on the basis that Larsen had been charged with a felony in the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas. The JCB requested that if and when Larsen was convicted, that his suspension be automatically converted to a suspension without pay. On or about March 20, 1994, Larsen filed an answer with new matter to the JCB’s application. On March 25, 1994, the CJD denied the JCB’s application. On April 9, 1994, an Allegheny Court of Common Pleas jury convicted Larsen on two felony counts. On April 18, 1994, the JCB filed a second application to suspend Larsen without pay. In support of its application, the JCB averred Larsen’s conviction on criminal charges in the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas. Larsen had yet to be sentenced and had appealed his convictions. On May 5, 1994, Larsen filed an answer and new matter to the JCB’s application. On May 16, 1994, the JCB filed a response to new matter. The CJD conducted a hearing on the JCB’s second application on May 25, 1994. Exhibits regarding Larsen’s criminal information and jury verdicts were admitted into evidence. Larsen’s counsel moved to bifurcate the hearing to permit him to introduce testimony at a later date. The CJD denied the motion. On June 3, 1994, the CJD granted the JCB’s application for an interim order suspending Larsen without pay. Thereafter, on June 6, 1994, the JCB filed a formal complaint against Larsen with the CJD. Larsen instituted the present action on September 13, 1995. In response, all Defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing various reasons why the complaint should be dismissed. On February 26, 1996, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint, thereby mooting Defendants’ pending motions: Defendants again moved to dismiss the amended complaint in its entirety, alleging various procedural and substantive irregularities. Larsen’s claims against the various Defendants are too numerous to recite herein and will be discussed as necessary in the context of addressing the merits of Defendants’ individual motions. Generally, Larsen alleges that in each of the proceedings which resulted in his removal from judicial office, Defendants violated his rights to due process and equal protection, and retaliated against him in violation of the First Amendment based on his statements in his petitions for the disqualification and recusal of Justices Zappala and Cappy, and his statements regarding Chief Justice Nix. Larsen seeks reinstatement, compensatory damages, monetary damages, and resumption of his medical insurance benefits. III. Discussion A. Law Governing Motions to Dismiss In addressing Defendants’ motions, the court is required to accept as true all of the factual allegations in the amended complaint and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from its face. Nami v. Fauver, 82 F.3d 63, 65 (3d Cir.1996); see also Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1686, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); White v. Napoleon, 897 F.2d 103, 106 (3d Cir.1990). “The complaint will be deemed to have alleged sufficient facts if it adequately put[s] the defendants on notice of the essential elements of ... plaintiff[’s] cause of action.” Nami, 82 F.3d at 65. The court will not dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim “unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim[s] which would entitle him to relief.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). At the outset of its discussion, the court notes that several Defendants argue that Larsen’s claims against them are moot in that he seeks reinstatement to the bench, a remedy which the court cannot provide as Larsen was removed from office as part of his sentence imposed by the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas following his trial. While this is true, the court notes that Larsen has appealed his criminal conviction and sentence, challenging his removal from office. On August 5,1996, while the current motions were pending before this court, the superior court declined to entertain Larsen’s challenge on appeal to his removal from office, holding that the issue was moot due to the Senate’s impeachment of him. Commonwealth v. Larsen, 452 Pa.Super. 508, 682 A.2d 783, 793-94 (1996). Because the possibility remains that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will hold differently and address the merits of Larsen’s challenge to his sentence, the court does not find it appropriate to dismiss Larsen’s claims at this time based on mootness. The court will address Defendants’ arguments in support of dismissal seriatim. B. Rooker-Feldman The Senate and individual Senate Defendants argue that the court lacks jurisdiction over Larsen’s claims based on the Rook-er-Feldman doctrine. Under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, district courts “lack subject matter jurisdiction to engage in appellate review of state-court determinations or to evaluate constitutional claims that are ‘inextricably intertwined with the state court’s [decision] in a judicial proceeding.’” Port Auth. Police Benevolent Ass’n, Inc. v. Port Auth. of New York and New Jersey Police Dep’t, 973 F.2d 169, 177 (3d Cir.1992) (quoting District Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 483, 103 S.Ct. 1303, 1316, 75 L.Ed.2d 206 n. 16 (1983)); see also Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413, 44 S.Ct. 149, 68 L.Ed. 362 (1923). In addition, Rooker-Feldman deprives district courts of jurisdiction to hear appeals from interlocutory orders issued by lower state courts, Port Auth., 973 F.2d at 177-78, and from entertaining constitutional claims that a litigant could have raised in a prior state court proceeding but chose not to, Valenti v. Mitchell, 962 F.2d 288, 296 (3d Cir.1992). A federal claim is inextricably intertwined with a claim raised in a prior state court proceeding if granting the requested relief would require the district court to overrule a prior state court judgment. FOCUS v. Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, 75 F.3d 834, 840 (3d Cir.1996). Where a federal court could not grant the federal plaintiffs requested relief without reversing or modifying a previous decision of a state court, the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to entertain the federal plaintiffs claim. Marks v. Stinson, 19 F.3d 873, 885 n. 11 (3d Cir.1994); Kirby v. City of Philadelphia, 905 F.Supp. 222, 225 (E.D.Pa.1995). Prior to the commencement of the Senate impeachment proceedings, on July 26, 1994, Larsen filed suit in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court seeking a preliminary injunction enjoining the proceedings. Larsen v. Senate of Pennsylvania, 166 Pa.Cmwlth. 472, 646 A.2d 694, 695 (1994). The Senate Defendants argue that under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, Larsen’s prior court proceeding and the commonwealth court’s decision in that case deprive this court of jurisdiction over Larsen’s claims in the instant case. In his commonwealth court action, Larsen raised several claims similar to the ones he seeks to litigate in the present action, namely that: (1) the Senate improperly delegated to the Senate committee the responsibility for conducting the impeachment trial, (2) the Senate and Senate committee violated his due process rights by failing to grant his motion for an extension of time or rule on other of his pretrial motions, and (3) the Senate and the committee violated his rights to a fair trial and effective assistance of counsel by denying his request for payment of attorney’s fees. Larsen, 646 A.2d at 697-98. The commonwealth court declined to address the propriety of the Senate’s actions, concluding that the impeachment provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution commit the impeachment power to the Senate “to an extent which clearly bars the courts from intervening with prior restraint.” Id. at 705. The court stated: Impeachment involves an adjudicative process, but one which has been clearly set apart by the Constitution as distinguished from adjudications by the judicial branch of government, regardless of whatever powers the courts may have to interpret actions of the legislative body, by way of review, after they have been taken. As in the case of scrutinizing the constitutionality of statutes themselves, the courts clearly have no power to intervene by injunction in advance of legislative action, any more than a court would have any power to enjoin in advance, the enactment of a law appearing (to the courts) to be constitutionally invalid. Id. (emphasis added). The court interprets the commonwealth court’s decision as merely holding that it lacked the authority to issue a prior restraint upon the Senate and the Senate committee. Thus, granting the relief requested by Larsen in the instant action would not require the court to overrule the commonwealth court’s prior decision. Indeed, many of the claims that Larsen raises in the present case arose out of the impeachment process itself which had not begun at the time the commonwealth court ruled on his motion for a preliminary injunction. It would have been impossible for Larsen to assert claims at that time based on events that had not yet occurred. Several of Larsen’s constitutional claims arose out of the impeachment proceedings, could not have been raised prior to the impeachment trial, and, thus, cannot be considered inextricably intertwined with claims he did raise in the commonwealth court. Additionally, the commonwealth court recognized the possibility that upon conclusion of the impeachment proceedings, it might possess the power to hear Larsen’s claims. Id. at 700, 705. The commonwealth court appeared reluctant, however, based on the political question doctrine to make an explicit holding regarding a state court’s jurisdiction to hear claims at the completion of the impeachment proceedings. Id. at 702-04. Therefore, even if the commonwealth court had held that the political question doctrine prohibited it from hearing Larsen’s claims at the conclusion of the impeachment proceedings, granting the relief requested in the present case would not require the court to overrule the commonwealth court’s decision that it was barred from entertaining Larsen’s claims. Accordingly, the court will not dismiss Larsen’s claims against the Senate and individual Senate Defendants based on the Rooker-Feld-man doctrine. C. Political Question Doctrine The Senate and individual Senate Defendants argue that Larsen’s constitutional challenge to the manner in which they conducted his impeachment trial involves a political question and that the court should decline to exercise its jurisdiction over Larsen’s claims on this basis. The political question doctrine applies “where there is ‘a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of [an] issue to a coordinate political department; or a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it____’” Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224, 228, 113 S.Ct. 732, 735, 122 L.Ed.2d 1 (1993) (emphasis added) (quoting Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 217, 82 S.Ct. 691, 710, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962)). The policy behind the political question doctrine derives from the need to ,maintain separation of powers between coequal branches of government. Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 351, 96 S.Ct. 2673, 2679, 49 L.Ed.2d 547 (1976) (citing Baker, 369 U.S. at 217, 82 S.Ct. at 710). “[I]t is the relationship between the judiciary and the coordinate branches of the Federal Government, and not the federal judiciary’s relationship to the States, which gives rise to the political question.” Baker, 369 U.S. at 210, 82 S.Ct. at 706 (internal quotations omitted). Thus, the political question doctrine does not prohibit the court from hearing Larsen’s constitutional claims arising out of the Senate’s actions. See Bond v. Floyd, 385 U.S. 116, 87 S.Ct. 339, 17 L.Ed.2d 235 (1966); Gewertz v. Jackman, 467 F.Supp. 1047, 1055 (D.N.J. 1979). The cpurt -will deny the Senate Defendants’ motion to dismiss based on the application of the political question doctrine. D. The Eleventh Amendment Several Defendants assert that they are ■immune from suit pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment. Larsen has sued all Defendants in their official and personal capacities. (Compl. ¶ 13.) Specifically, Larsen asks the court to grant judgment in his favor: (1) against the Senate and Senators in their official capacities, granting declaratory and injunctive relief, voiding the Senate impeachment verdict of guilty of Article II; (2) against the Senators in their personal capacities, awarding damages including loss of past and future wages and benefits, emotional harm, injury to reputation, and counsel fees; (3) against the Supreme Court, ... Judicial Conduct Board, and all individual members, in their official capacities, granting declaratory and injunctive relief: (i) voiding the Court of Judicial Discipline’s order dated June 3, 1994, of suspension without pay; (ii) voiding the appointments to the Judicial Conduct Board and the Court of Judicial Discipline; and (iii) voiding the action of interfering with plaintiffs right to practice law; (4) against the Supreme Court, Court of Judicial Discipline ... and all members in their personal capacities, awarding damages, including loss of past and future wages and benefits, emotional harm, injury to reputation, and counsel fees; (5) against the Supreme Court and individual justices and Administrative Office and individual members in their official capacities, granting declaratory and injunctive relief, voiding the action of terminating plaintiffs health and medical benefits; (6) against the Supreme Court and individual justices and Administrative Office and individual members in their personal capacities, awarding damages for medical expenses incurred by plaintiff from June 4, 1994, to date; and, (7) against all individual defendants in their personal capacities for punitive damages and other such relief as the court may find appropriate. (Compl. at 29-30.) “[I]n the absence of consent a suit in which the State or one of its agencies or departments is named as the defendant is proscribed by the Eleventh Amendment.” Pennhurst State School & Hosp. v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 100, 104 S.Ct. 900, 908, 79 L.Ed.2d 67 (1984). This jurisdictional bar applies regardless of whether the plaintiff is seeking equitable relief or monetary damages. Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 276, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 2939, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986); Pennhurst, 465 U.S. at 100-01, 104 S.Ct. at 908. Additionally, suits against state officials will be deemed suits against the state and barred by the Eleventh Amendment if “the judgment sought would expend itself on the public treasury or domain, or interfere with the public administration, or if the effect of the judgment would be to restrain the Government from acting, or to compel it to act.” Pennhurst, 465 U.S. at 101 n. 11, 104 S.Ct. at 908 n. 11 (quoting Dugan v. Rank, 372 U.S. 609, 620, 83 S.Ct. 999, 1006, 10 L.Ed.2d 15 (1963) (internal quotations omitted)). The one well-known exception to this rule is where a suit challenges the constitutionality of a state official’s conduct. Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123, 28 S.Ct. 441, 52 L.Ed. 714 (1908). The Supreme Court has narrowly applied Young’s exception. Pennhurst, 465 U.S. at 102, 104 S.Ct. at 909. In Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 94 S.Ct. 1347, 39 L.Ed.2d 662 (1974), the Court held that federal courts may award prospective injunctive relief to plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of a state official’s conduct. “Both prospective and retrospective relief implicate Eleventh Amendment concerns, but the availability of prospective relief of the sort awarded in Ex parte Young, gives life to the Supremacy Clause. Remedies designed to end a continuing violation of federal law are necessary to vindicate the federal interests in assuring the supremacy of that law.” Green v. Mansour, 474 U.S. 64, 68, 106 S.Ct. 423, 426, 88 L.Ed.2d 371 (1985). The Senate, the Supreme Court, and the CJD argue that Larsen’s claims against them are in effect claims against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and are, therefore, barred by the Eleventh Amendment. The court agrees and will dismiss all claims asserted against the Senate, Supreme Court, and the CJD. Larsen appears to contest only mildly the contention that his suit against the Senate is a suit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for Eleventh Amendment purposes. Other than citing Liveright v. Joint Comm. of Tenn. Gen. Assembly, 279 F.Supp. 205, 211 (M.D.Tenn.1968) in support of his claim that “[a] legislative body is not immune from suit for injunctive relief,” Pl.’s Br. in Oppos. at 20, he does not dispute that his suit against the Senate is a suit against the Commonwealth. Although the court in Liveright did not address the question of whether a legislative body was immune from suit pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment, Larsen asks the court to presume it stands for such a proposition based on the district court’s award of injunctive relief against the committee. The court declines to adopt such a theory. Moreover, Larsen misunderstands the relevant inquiry in determining whether a suit against a state agency is barred by the Eleventh Amendment. The question of whether a state agency is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity depends upon whether it is an arm of the state, not upon the type of relief sought. In making the determination of whether an entity is an arm of the state, the Third Circuit has outlined three factors for the court to consider. See Peters v. Del. River Port Auth., 16 F.3d 1346, 1350 (3d Cir.1994), cert. denied 513 U.S. 811, 115 S.Ct. 62, 130 L.Ed.2d 20 (1995). First, the court must assess whether if the plaintiff succeeds on his claims the judgment would be paid from the state treasury. Second, the court must examine the status of the entity pursuant to state law. Third, the court should consider the extent of autonomy enjoyed by the entity. The first factor is the most important one. Id.; see also Fitchik v. New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, Inc., 873 F.2d 655, 659 (3d Cir.1989) (en banc). The court finds that the Senate is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity. It is difficult to imagine what entity would be considered an arm of the Commonwealth if the Senate were not. Application of the Peters factors seems cumbersome in the present context. The Senate is one of the governing branches of the Commonwealth. Thus, under Peters, the question the court is required to answer is, in essence, whether the Senate is independent from itself. Any judgment obtained by Larsen would be satisfied by the state treasury and the court concludes that the Senate is an arm of the Commonwealth for Eleventh Amendment immunity purposes. The court reaches the same conclusion with regard to the Supreme Court, and at least one other court has already so held. Mattas v. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 576 F.Supp. 1178, 1182 (W.D.Pa.1983). In addition, the court finds that the CJD is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity. The CJD is created pursuant to the Pennsylvania Constitution. Pa. Const, art. 5, § 18(b). Appointments to the CJD are made by the Supreme Court and the Governor. Id. art. 5, § 18(b)(1). The CJD’s funding is part of the Supreme Court budget, which flows directly from the budget for the judicial branch as approved by the Pennsylvania legislature. Any judgment obtained against the CJD would be paid out of state funds. Accordingly, the court will dismiss Larsen’s claims against the Supreme Court and the CJD because it finds they are immune from suit pursuant to the Eleventh Amendment. The individual members of the Senate, Supreme Court, the CJD, the JCB and Defendants Frankforter and Sobolevitch also argue that they are entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity. Larsen has sued these Defendants in both their official and personal capacities. The Eleventh Amendment does not insulate Defendants from Larsen’s claims against them in their personal capacities. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d ll4 (1985); Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). This is also true for Larsen’s claims for punitive damages against Defendants as well. Smith v. Wade, 461 U.S. 30, 103 S.Ct. 1625, 75 L.Ed.2d 632 (1983). “[W]hen a plaintiff sues a state official alleging a violation of federal law, the federal court may award an injunction that governs the official’s future conduct, but not one that awards retroactive monetary relief.” Pennhurst, 465 U.S. at 102-03, 104 S.Ct. at 909 (citing Edelman, 415 U.S. at 666-67, 94 S.Ct. at 1357). Larsen asks the court to “void” the Senate Defendants’ impeachment verdict of guilty, the Supreme Court Defendants’ appointments to the JCB, the CJD Defendants’ interim order suspending him without pay, and enjoin Defendants Sobolev-itch and Frankforter’s from failing to reinstate his lifetime medical insurance benefits. (Compl. at 29 ¶¶(1), (3), (5).) In determining whether Larsen’s claims are barred by the Eleventh Amendment, the court must determine whether his claims against the individual members in their official capacities are retrospective or prospective in nature. The court finds that they are. Larsen’s request that the court void the Senate members’ impeachment verdict of guilty is, in essence, a request for prospective reinstatement or a direction to the members that they rescind their guilty verdict. Thus, the relief Larsen seeks against the individual Senate Defendants in their official capacities is not prohibited by the Eleventh Amendment. See Warnock v. Pecos County, Tex., 88 F.3d 341, 343 (5th Cir.1996) (claims for prospective reinstatement not barred by Eleventh Amendment); Cross v. State of Ala., 49 F.3d 1490, 1503 (11th Cir.1995) (district court properly enjoined state officials from failing to reinstate state employees); Russell v. Dunston, 896 F.2d 664, 668 (2d Cir.1990) (existence of past harm does not render prospective injunction retrospective relief barred by Eleventh Amendment); see also Berman Enterprises, Inc. v. Jorling, 3 F.3d 602, 606-07 (2d Cir.1993) (claim for declaratory relief seeking to vacate state officials’ administrative orders not barred by Eleventh Amendment); Nix v. Norman, 879 F.2d 429, 433 (8th Cir.1989) (Eleventh Amendment did not bar request for injunc-tive relief that state officials remove false allegations from employment record); Darlak v. Bobear, 814 F.2d 1055, 1061 (5th Cir.1987) (request for injunctive relief requiring state officials to rescind suspension not prohibited pursuant to Eleventh Amendment). The court also finds that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar Larsen’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief against the individual members of the Supreme Court, the JCB, the CJD and Defendants Frank-forter and Sobolevitch in their official capacities. These claims include Larsen’s requests that the court: (1) vacate the Supreme Court Defendants’ appointments to the JCB and CJD; (2) vacate the CJD Defendants’ order suspending him without pay; (3) enter a declaratory judgment as to the JCB and CJD Defendants’ authority to act with regard to his right to practice law; and (4) enjoin Defendants Sobolevitch and Frankforter from failing to reinstate his lifetime medical insurance benefits. Accordingly, the court will deny the individual Senate Defendants’, the Supreme Court Defendants’, the CJD Defendants’ and JCB Defendants’, and Defendants Frankforter’s and Soboleviteh’s motions to dismiss Larsen’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief against them in their official capacities. E. Legislative Immunity The Senate Defendants assert that they are absolutely immune from suit in their personal capacities based on the doctrine of absolute legislative immunity. Legislators are entitled to absolute immunity for actions taken in their legislative capacity. Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 440 U.S. 391, 406, 99 S.Ct. 1171, 1179-80, 59 L.Ed.2d 401 (1979); Tenney v. Brandhove, 341 U.S. 367, 71 S.Ct. 783, 95 L.Ed. 1019 (1951). Larsen argues that the Senate Defendants are not entitled to absolute legislative immunity because the Senate impeachment proceeding did not constitute a legislative act. The purpose of affording legislators absolute immunity is so that' they “are immune from deterrents to the uninhibited discharge of their legislative duty, not for their private indulgence but for the public good.” Tenney, 341 U.S. at 377, 71 S.Ct. at 788. Thus, the Supreme Court has held that legislators are immune from suits against them in their personal capacities if they “were acting within the legitimate sphere of their legislative activity.” Id. at 376, 71 S.Ct. at 788. While it is true that a conviction of impeachment may not involve “policy-making,” Acierno v. Cloutier, 40 F.3d 597, 610 (3d Cir.1994), conducting impeachment trials is one of the responsibilities charged to the United States and Pennsylvania legislatures and is within the legitimate sphere of legislative activity. Indeed, no other governmental body possesses such responsibility. Larsen cites Government of V.I. v. Lee, 775 F.2d 514, 520-21 (3d Cir.1985), in support of his argument that legislative immunity shields legislators from suit only for acts done in the process of enacting legislation. The issue in Lee was whether legislative fact-finding is the type of activity protected by legislative immunity. The Third Circuit held that it is, stating “fact-finding occupies a position of sufficient importance in the legislative process to justify the protection afforded by legislative immunity.” Id. at 521. It appears from the court’s review of the case law that virtually all of the cases which address the question of whether legislators are entitled to legislative immunity are cases in which legislators were engaged in activities that are accurately characterized as prerequisites to, or ancillary to, the ultimate legislative acts of proposing, debating, and passing legislation. See Eastland v. United States Servicemen’s Fund, 421 U.S. 491, 504-05, 95 S.Ct. 1813, 1822, 44 L.Ed.2d 324 (1975) (members of Congress shielded by legislative immunity in issuing subpoena in context of authorized congressional investigation); Tenney, 341 U.S. at 377-78, 71 S.Ct. at 788-89 (state legislative committee investigation into “un-american” activities within legitimate sphere of legislative activity). The activities engaged in by the Senate Defendants in the present case were also prerequisites to, or ancillary to, the legitimate legislative act of impeachment. In conducting the impeachment proceedings, the Senate Defendants “were acting in a field where legislators traditionally have power to act.” Tenney, 341 U.S. at 379, 71 S.Ct. at 789. Pursuant to the United States Constitution, the United States Senate is granted sole authority to conduct impeachment trials. Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224, 229, 113 S.Ct. 732, 735-36, 122 L.Ed.2d 1 (1993). The Pennsylvania Constitution grants similar authority to the Pennsylvania Senate. Pa. Const, art. 6, § 5 (“All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate.”). The fact that legislators are not often called upon to conduct impeachment proceedings does not make their actions any less legislative in nature than those actions undertaken in passing legislation. All of the conduct by the Senate Defendants of which Larsen complains was undertaken in pursuit of the impeachment proceedings against him. In order to remove the Senate members actions from the shield of legislative immunity, Larsen would need to allege that their actions in some way “usurp[ed]” the impeachment authority vested in them by the Pennsylvania Constitution. Tenney, 341 U.S. at 378, 71 S.Ct. at 789. Larsen makes no such allegation. Accordingly, the court finds that dismissal of Larsen’s claims against the Senate Defendants in their personal capacities is proper because they are entitled to absolute legislative immunity. F. Abstention (1) The CJD and JCB Individual Defendants The CJD and JCB Defendants argue that given the current proceedings pending before it, the court should abstain from hearing Larsen’s claims against them pursuant to Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971). The proceedings currently before the CJD were instituted on April 18, 1994 when the JCB filed an application with the CJD for an interim order directing that Larsen be suspended from his duties without pay. The basis underlying the JCB’s application was Larsen’s conviction on April 9, 1994 in the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas finding Larsen guilty on two counts of criminal conspiracy under the Controlled Substances Act. On May 5,1994, Larsen filed an answer with new matter to the JCB’s application. On May 16, 1994, the JCB filed a response to new matter. On May 25, 1994, the CJD conducted a hearing on the JCB’s application. The jury’s verdict against Larsen was admitted into evidence. Larsen’s counsel moved that the hearing be bifurcated in order to allow the introduction of testimony at a later date. The CJD denied the motion. On June 3,1994, the CJD granted the JCB’s application and entered an order directing Larsen’s suspension without pay. In re Justice Rolf Larsen, 655 A.2d 239 (C.J.D.1994). On June 6,1994, the JCB filed with the CJD a “Board Complaint — Formal Charges” against Larsen. Larsen maintains that the JCB Defendants have wrongfully asserted that they have the right to seek the revocation of Larsen’s right to practice law and that their decision to lodge charges against him was in retaliation for his prior protected statements regarding Justices Zappala, Cap-py and Chief Justice Nix. Larsen claims that the CJD Defendants acted without authority in entering the interim order suspending Larsen without pay. Specifically, he claims that because the Pennsylvania Constitution permits the interim suspension of judicial officers only in instances where a justice has been indicted or charged with a felony, the CJD’s order suspending Larsen based on his two criminal convictions was improper. Larsen also alleges that the CJD Defendants have “wrongfully asserted” that they have authority over his right to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, Larsen maintains that the CJD Defendants were motivated to issue the interim order based on Larsen’s prior statements in his petitions for disqualification and recusal. Larsen seeks an order from this court voiding the CJD’s June 3, 1994 order, “voiding the action of interfering with [his] right to practice law,” (Compl. at 29, ¶ 3), and awarding damages against the individual members of the CJD in their personal capacities. “Younger v. Harris ... and its progeny espouse a strong federal policy against federal-court interference with pending [state] judicial proceedings absent extraordinary circumstances.” Middlesex County Ethics Comm. v. Garden State Bar Ass’n, 457 U.S. 423, 431, 102 S.Ct. 2515, 2521, 73 L.Ed.2d 116 (1982). The policies underlying abstention include ‘“a proper respect for state functions, a recognition of the fact that the entire country is made up of a Union of separate state governments, and a continuance of the belief that the National Government will fare best if the States and their institutions are left free to perform their separate functions in their separate ways.’ ” Id. (quoting Younger, 401 U.S. at 44, 91 S.Ct. at 750). “The policies underlying Younger are fully applicable to noncriminal judicial proceedings when important state interests are involved.” Middlesex County, 457 U.S. at 432, 102 S.Ct. at 2521. The Supreme Court has applied Younger in the context of attorney disciplinary proceedings, Middlesex County, 457 U.S. at 432, 102 S.Ct. at 2521, and the Third Circuit has applied Younger in the context of judicial removal proceedings, Coruzzi v. State of New Jersey, 705 F.2d 688, 690 (1983). The Supreme Court has outlined three relevant areas of inquiry in determining whether abstention under Younger is appropriate. First, is there an ongoing state judicial proceeding? Second, does the proceeding implicate important state interests? Third, does the plaintiff have an adequate opportunity to raise his constitutional challenges in the context of that proceeding? Middlesex County, 457 U.S. at 432, 102 S.Ct. at 2521. (a) The Existence of an Ongoing State Judicial Proceeding Further CJD proceedings relating to the formal charges against Larsen have been stayed at his request. (See Defs.’ Ex. S, Joint Motion for Continuance, In re Larsen, CJD No. 4 JD 94.) In addition, the CJD proceedings are also pending with respect to the CJD’s interim order because it permits Larsen to move for modification or vacation of the order based on changed circumstances. In re Larsen, 655 A.2d at 243, 249. Larsen opines that there is presently no proceeding against him because the CJD’s interim order is not appealable. Pa. Const, art. 5, § 18(d)(2). Larsen’s argument is without merit as the CJD’s order specifically permits him to seek modification of the order under the appropriate circumstances. Moreover, Larsen himself has consented to stay the formal proceedings against him, of which the interim order is a component. The means by which to challenge the lodging of charges against him and the granting of the interim order are readily available to Larsen through the resumption of the proceedings before the CJD relating to the JCB’s formal complaint against him. The court also finds that the proceedings in front of the CJD, including both the proceedings leading up to the issuance of the interim order and the proceedings relating to the JCB’s formal complaint, are judicial in nature “since [they] bea[r] several of the indicia of a judicial action.” Coruzzi, 705 F.2d at 690. The JCB instituted interim proceedings against Larsen by filing an application, akin to a motion for a preliminary injunction. Larsen filed an answer and new matter and the JCB filed a response. The CJD subsequently conducted a hearing on the JCB’s application. At the hearing, Larsen was represented by counsel and was offered the opportunity to take the stand as a witness on his own behalf, although he declined to do so. In re Larsen, 655 A2d at 242. Furthermore, the JCB initiated formal proceedings against Larsen with the filing of a complaint pursuant to Article 5, Section 18(a)(7). Proceedings before the CJD proceed in accordance with the law of evidence and parties appearing before the court have the right to discovery, to subpoena witnesses and to compel the production of documents, books, accounts, and other relevant records. Pa. Const, art. V, § 18(b)(5). Parties appearing before the CJD are presumed innocent and all decisions of the CJD are to be in writing and contain findings of fact and conclusions of law. Id. Additionally, the removal proceedings against Larsen are judicial in nature because they require the CJD to “investigate, declare, and enforce liabilities as they stood on present or past facts and under laws supposed already to exist.” Coruzzi, 705 F.2d at 690-91 (internal quotations and alterations omitted). (b) The Existence of Important State Interests It is clear that “[Pennsylvania’s] interests in assuring the ethical conduct of its judges and maintaining the integrity of its judiciary are no less significant,” Coruzzi, 705 F.2d at 691, than the interest the State of New Jersey possessed in “maintaining and assuring the integrity of the attorneys it licenses,” Middlesex County, 457 U.S. at 434, 102 S.Ct. at 2522. Granting the relief requested by Larsen would “substantially interfere with the state’s removal proceeding accompanied by a suspension without pay, by preempting the adjudication of a claim that could have been raised in that proceeding.” Coruzzi 705 F.2d at 691. (c) Larsen’s Opportunity to Raise his Constitutional Claims Before the CJD The court does not find that Larsen is precluded from raising his constitutional claims before the CJD. The court notes that the only two federal constitutional claims which Larsen raises regarding the CJD Defendants’ authority to act are (1) his rather amorphous claim that the Supreme Court improperly appointed members to the CJD and, therefore, that the CJD’s decision to issue its interim order was in violation of Larsen’s due process and equal protection rights, and (2) his claim that the CJD imper-missibly relied upon his prior statements in his petitions for the disqualification and recu-sal of Justices Zappala and Cappy when the CJD decided to issue the interim order. Larsen’s remaining claims relate to whether the JCB and CJD Defendants’ actions were proper under the Pennsylvania Constitution and whether they have the authority to pursue the revocation of his right to practice law. Larsen’s ability to litigate his state constitutional claims before the CJD are not of concern to the court in evaluating whether abstention is proper. Middlesex County, 457 U.S. at 434, 102 S.Ct. at 2522 (deciding whether abstention appropriate based on whether plaintiff has adequate opportunity to raise federal challenges). The CJD’s opinion underlying the interim order does not indicate that Larsen attempted to raise to the CJD either of the federal constitutional challenges he seeks to raise in this court. From the CJD’s exhaustive consideration of Larsen’s state law claims, nothing in the court’s opinion suggests it would fail to hear Larsen’s federal constitutional claims. To the contrary, the CJD’s opinion evidences that it gave a great deal of consideration to all of Larsen’s state law claims. The court finds that Larsen has not established that he will be unable to raise his federal constitutional claims before the CJD. First, Larsen’s claims that the Supreme Court has improperly appointed members to the JCB and the CJD is more appropriately asserted against the Supreme Court and not the CJD and its individual members or the JCB’s individual members. See infra § (F)(2). Second, if Larsen intends to make allegations of bias by the CJD and JCB Defendants he has offered no reason why he cannot assert such claims before the CJD just as litigants in this court must raise their claims of judicial bias by filing a motion for recusal. Larsen’s claims of bias by the JCB would also be properly raised before the CJD as claims of prosecutorial bias. In addition, Larsen has not demonstrated that the ongoing CJD proceedings will not afford him the opportunity to raise his First Amendment retaliation claims. Again, if Larsen is asserting these claims as a means of alleging bias on behalf of the CJD, the JCB or their members, he has articulated no reason why his situation is any different than any other litigant who is required to raise such claims in the tribunal before which he is appearing. Larsen claims that the CJD is not authorized to determine federal constitutional questions. However, nothing in the Pennsylvania Constitution prohibits the CJD from hearing such claims. The fact that the CJD is comprised of non-judges and non-lawyers provides an insufficient basis upon which to conclude that the proceedings before the CJD will not afford him an opportunity to litigate his constitutional claims. See Middlesex County, 457 U.S. at 435, 102 S.Ct. at 2523 (noting not all members of ethics committee conducting attorney disciplinary proceedings were lawyers). Because the court finds that abstention is appropriate under Younger v. Harris, it will dismiss Plaintiffs claims against the individual JCB Defendants and the individual CJD Defendants in their official capacities. (2) The Individual Supreme Court Defendants, Administrative Office of the Courts, and Defendants Sobolevitch and Frankforter The court also finds that abstention is proper with regard to Larsen’s claims asserted in parts 11(a) & (b) of the amended complaint against the individual members of the Supreme Court. In part 11(a), Larsen alleges that the Supreme Court Defendants’ appointments to the CJD “were done in an improper manner to deny [him] due process of law and equal protection of the law in the within proceedings.” (Compl. ¶ 97.) Furthermore, Larsen claims that “[s]ome members of the ... CJD were appointed to serve because they had close ties to members of the Supreme Court, with the result that Justice Larsen was denied due process of law and equal protection of the law.” (Id. ¶ 98.) In part 11(b), Larsen alleges that his statements regarding Justices Cappy, Zappala and Chief Justice Nix were substantial or motivating factors in the Supreme Court Defendants’ decisions to appoint certain members to the CJD and JCB. Although Larsen does not allege in part 11(a) the specific injury he suffered as a result of the Supreme Court Defendants appointment of CJD and JCB members in an “improper manner” the court can discern only two possible injuries of which he could complain, that of bias or some impropriety in the CJD Defendants’ issuance of the interim order suspending him without pay and/or impropriety in the JCB Defendants’ decision to proceed against him. The court’s interpretation of the amended complaint is bolstered by Larsen’s contention in part 11(b) that as a result of the Supreme Court Defendants taking into account his prior protected speech, he “was injured in that he was suspended without pay and improper action was taken against him with respect to his right to practice law.” (Id. ¶ 103.) Thus, the injury which Larsen claims he suffered as a result of the Supreme Court Defendants’ appointments is the lodging of charges against him and the improper issuance of the interim order. Abstention with regard to these claims is mandated by the fact that a determination of Larsen’s allegations would necessarily involve an evaluation of whether the JCB Defendants acted with bias in seeking the interim order and filing a formal complaint against Larsen and whether the CJD acted with bias or improper intent in issuing the interim order. To evaluate these claims would require the court to interfere with the ongoing removal proceedings.' The court has already found that the existence of these ongoing state proceedings requires the court to abstain from entertaining Larsen’s claims against the CJD and JCB Defendants and that Larsen has failed to demonstrate why the proceedings before the CJD do not afford him the opportunity to raise his claims of bias. Thus, abstention with Regard to Larsen’s allegations against the individual members of the supreme court in parts 11(a) and (b) is also proper. G. Failure to State a Claim The Senate Defendants argue that dismissal of Larsen’s claims against them in their official capacities is proper based on his failure to allege facts which, if proven, would entitle him to relief. Larsen asserts two separate claims against the Senate Defendants. Larsen claims that he had both property and liberty interests in his position as a supreme court justice and in not being barred from holding office. Accordingly, he alleges that the Senate Defendants’ impeachment of him violated his right to due process pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Larsen also avers that the Senate impeachment proceedings were subject to the procedural protections of the Sixth Amendment, which he claims were not adhered to in the impeachment process. The court will address Larsen’s allegations seriatim. (1) Deprivation of Property Interest The Senate Defendants argue that Larsen did not possess a property interest in his position as a supreme court justice and that they were not required to comport with constitutional due process protections in impeaching him. Whether or not Larsen had a property in interest in his position is a question properly answered by looking to Pennsylvania law. Independent Enterprises Inc. v. Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Auth., 103 F.3d 1165, 1177 (3d Cir.1997) (citing Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972)). Thus, “[according to the teachings of Roth ... [Larsen] may not pursue [his] procedural due process claims ... unless an independent source such as state law affords [him] a legitimate claim of entitlement” to his post as a supreme court justice. Independent Enterprises, 103 F.3d at 1177 (internal quotations omitted). Larsen cites to no state law as the source of his alleged property right. Defendants, on the other hand, point to several decisions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which make clear that in Pennsylvania, an elected official possesses at best a “highly circumscribed” interest in his office. Sweeney v. Tucker, 473 Pa. 493, 375 A.2d 698, 713 (1977); see also In re 1991 Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Comm’n, 530 Pa. 335, 609 A.2d 132, 140-41 (1992). Indeed, in In re Legislative Reapportionment Comm’n, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court explicitly stated that “elected officials’ interest in their offices does not merit constitutional protection.” 609 A.2d at 141. In discussing whether a state legislator possesses a property interest in his office entitling him to procedural due process protections prior to his expulsion from the legislature, the court in Sweeney stated: An elected office is a public trust, not the private domain of the officeholder____ He holds office for the benefit of his constituents and cannot justifiably rely on a private need or expectation in holding office. He is periodically accountable to his constituents through the electoral process. Due to the paramount public interest in the integrity of the legislative process, the Pennsylvania Constitution provides for expulsion by two-thirds vote of the representatives of the people of the entire state. A member of the Legislature is thus subject to the political process at all times. This is properly so for the public interest in the office far outweighs any private interest of the officeholder. An elected official can never have tenure in the same sense as an ordinary public employee. 375 A.2d at 713 (emphasis added). Larsen argues that Sweeney and In re 1991 Reapportionment Comm’n are distinguishable from the instant case because they did not address supreme court justices’ entitlement to office. He opines that because supreme court justices are elected for ten year terms and may be appointed by the governor to complete an unexpired term of a justice who resigns, retires or dies, justices are not “subject to the political process at all times.” Larsen overlooks the fact that supreme court justices are subject to impeachment by a two-thirds vote of the Senate just as a member of the legislature is subject to expulsion by a two-thirds vote of either house of the Pennsylvania legislature. Thus, Larsen, like the legislator in Sweeney, is in fact “subject to the political process at all times.” Additionally, although as elected officials supreme court justices do not represent then-constituents by instituting public policy in the same manner as legislators, i.e. enacting legislation, they hold office “for the benefit of their constituents” because their constituents have elected them to dispense justice in accordance with the principles they have expressed publicly in seeking judicial office. Thus, as in the case of state legislators, the “public interest” in the office of a supreme court justice “far outweighs any private interest of the [justice]” himself. Sweeney, 375 A.2d at 713. In support of his position that he had a property interest in his position, Larsen cites Guarino v. Larsen, 821 F.Supp. 1040 (E.D.Pa.), rev’d on other grounds, 11 F.3d 1151 (3d Cir.1993). Guarino involved a claim by Judge Guarino, a retired Court of' Common Pleas judge on active service, that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s revocation of his senior judge status without prior notice of any charges against him violated his due process rights. The district court held that Judge Guarino had a property right in being a senior judge until the expiration of his term of appointment and pursuant to the Pennsylvania Constitution, as a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Judge Guarino had been removed from the bench pursuant to an order issued by then Justice Larsen. In concluding that Judge Guarino had a property right as a supreme court justice, the district court relied upon Article 5, Section 18 of the Pennsylvania Constitution which provides for the removal of judicial officers through the procedure involving the JCB and the CJD. The court concluded that because Justice Larsen had removed Judge Guarino from his duties without following the procedures outlined in Section 18, the supreme court had denied Judge Guarino of due process. The district court in Guarino concluded that Guarino possessed a property right “based on the due process guarantee provided to all Pennsylvania justices and judges under the Constitution of Pennsylvania.” 821 F.Supp. at 1057. This court presumes that the court in Guarino was relying upon Article 5, Section 18 in reaching its conclusion. This court, however, is not inclined to reach a similar conclusion in the instant ease. The district court’s opinion in Guarino does not address the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decisions in Sweeney and In re 1991 Reapportionment Comm’n in which the supreme court clearly stated that an elected official’s property interest in his or her position is at best “highly circumscribed.” Moreover, the mere existence of procedural protections, like the procedures outlined in Article 5, Section 18, are insufficient to create a property interest in one’s post. “The existence of a property interest in employment turns on the substantive protection afforded the employee under state law, not the procedural protection.” Blanding v. Pennsylvania State Police, 12 F.3d 1303, 1306 n. 2 (3d Cir.1993). A public employee has a property interest in his job if state law provides that the employee may only be terminated for cause. Id. at 1306. Thus, to the extent that the district court in Guarino relied exclusively upon the procedures outlined in Article 5, Section 18 in concluding that Guarino possessed a property interest in his position, this court respectfully declines to adopt its reasoning. The court recognizes that in reaching its conclusion, the Guarino co