Michael Fanning

Michael Fanning, a Philadelphia Family Court judge, was arrested on March 9, 2026, after police say he repeatedly punched his 58-year-old wife in the head and face during an argument in the city's Torresdale neighborhood, causing her to fall, and then grabbed his 30-year-old daughter's hair and pulled her to the ground when she tried to intervene. He was charged with aggravated assault, strangulation, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. Pennsylvania's Judicial Conduct Board petitioned to suspend Fanning without pay pending the criminal case, and the Court of Judicial Discipline did so.

In July 2026, prosecutors withdrew all charges. An assistant district attorney said Fanning's wife and daughter did not want to proceed with the prosecution, and medics had found no significant injuries; prosecutors also cited "extensive mitigation" by Fanning since his arrest, including his wife's statement that he had voluntarily completed a 30-day inpatient program to treat alcoholism. This was not a finding that the underlying allegations were false — the case was dropped because the family didn't want to proceed, not because the evidence failed. With no remaining legal basis for it, the Court of Judicial Discipline lifted his suspension, and Fanning was assigned to administrative duty, not hearing cases, while Common Pleas Court leadership decided his future assignment.

Rather than return to the bench, Fanning resigned in early September 2026. Neither Fanning nor a court spokesperson has publicly explained the resignation.