Former Pennsylvania Judge Mark B. Cohen Appeals Sanctions Over Facebook Posts to Nation’s Highest Court

On Friday, May 1, 2026, the ABA Journal reported that a former Pennsylvania judge, Mark B. Cohen, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after being suspended and losing his pension due to Facebook posts. The case revolves around a dispute concerning the constitutional limits on restricting judicial speech.

DLA Piper filed a petition requesting the Supreme Court to review Cohen’s case. Cohen was removed from his position after a state court deemed the “tone” and “volume” of his 66 Facebook posts to be partisan. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had previously upheld the sanctions earlier this year, applying a government-employee balancing test derived from the Supreme Court’s 1968 ruling in Pickering v. Board of Education.

Ilana H. Eisenstein of DLA Piper in Philadelphia represents Cohen. Eisenstein stated that disciplining judges based on the perceived “tone” or “volume” of lawful speech promotes arbitrary enforcement and invites political interference in the judicial branch, threatening the rule of law. She emphasized the case as an urgent opportunity to restore constitutional clarity and reestablish the First Amendment’s protection for judges to speak on matters of public concern.

The petition argues that the current approach conflicts with Supreme Court precedent and highlights a deep division among federal appellate and state high courts regarding restrictions on judicial speech. Cohen seeks the court to determine whether strict scrutiny, requiring a compelling governmental interest and narrowly tailored means, applies to limits on judges’ speech.