Statements of allegations have been issued to both Harrison and Cavanaugh, Pearson said.
Two district judges relieved of duties
By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press writer
Posted Nov. 3, 2001 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 12, 2011 at 9:03 AM
...and Judge Paul J. Cavanaugh, first justice at Malden District Court, were ordered to step down this week by Samuel E. Zoll, chief justice of the district courts.
Zoll said the two judges would be absent from the bench "for an indefinite period."
He would not discuss the reason for the administrative actions against either judge. "All of these matters are confidential," he said.
The actions stem from an earlier investigation into a remark Harrison allegedly made at a zoning board meeting in Gloucester in 1998.
Joseph Garland, a Gloucester writer and historian, filed a complaint with the Commission on Judicial Conduct after Harrison allegedly confronted Garland over a development project. Harrison's wife, Michelle, an attorney, was representing developers seeking a permit to convert the city's old Copper Paint Factory into condominiums. Garland was an opponent of the project.http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20011103/News/311039964
The Commission on Judicial Conduct is now investigating whether Cavanaugh leaked information to Harrison about the commission's early investigation, WCVB-TV and The Boston Globe reported.
Cavanaugh and Harrison are longtime friends and served in the state House of Representatives together in the 1960s.
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Paul J. Cavanaugh is still listed as an ACTIVE lawyer on the Board of Bar Overseers site
Paul J. Cavanaugh
Medford MA 02155
Admitted to the bar on 11/10/59
Board of Bar Overseers number: 079280
Current status is active