A former supervisor in Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office was suspended from practicing in federal court for three years after a disciplinary panel found she knowingly misled a judge while seeking to overturn a death sentence.
Nancy Winkelman, former Law Division chief under Krasner, was sanctioned by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for making false representations in her efforts to vacate the death sentence of convicted murderer Robert Wharton.
The October order remained under seal until this week.
“After multiple hearings and extensive briefing, we find that Nancy Winkelman knowingly made misrepresentations to effectuate a policy of vacating all death sentences on appeal, at PCRA, or on federal habeas review.”
Judges Paul Diamond, Gerald Pappert, and John Gallagher issued the ruling.
The panel added they did not credit Winkelman’s testimony that no such blanket policy existed under Krasner’s office to overturn death penalties.
The suspension bars Winkelman from federal court practice for three years — a rare sanction reflecting the severity of misleading a federal judge in a capital case.
Krasner, a progressive prosecutor, has faced repeated criticism over his approach to criminal justice reform and handling of violent crime cases in Philadelphia.
