Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Fanning has been suspended without pay for assaulting two women, including his 30-year-old daughter, a court docket shows Thursday.
According to Philadelphia police, Fanning, 60, was arrested for the assault Monday night on the 9600 block of Milnor Street in the city’s Torresdale neighborhood. He’s been charged with aggravated assault, strangulation, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Police said Fanning and a 58-year-old woman were arguing, and then it turned violent. A court document alleges he punched the woman multiple times in the head and face, which caused her to fall to the ground. Fanning’s 30-year-old daughter attempted to intervene, but police said he then grabbed his daughter’s hair and pulled her to the ground.
Fanning has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 25.
Fanning, who has a bachelor’s degree from La Salle University and a law degree from Temple University, was retained on the Philadelphia Common Court Pleas in last year’s election with 85.8% of the vote.
Before joining the Philadelphia Common Court Pleas, Fanning served as an assistant district attorney in the child abuse unit in Bucks County.