The Pennsylvania House voted unanimously Tuesday to approve seven articles of impeachment against Supreme Court justice Rolf Larsen.
The articles will now be considered in a trial by the full state Senate as early as this summer.
Larsen is charged with using false names to obtain prescription drugs, giving preferential treatment to friends appearing before the court, concocting false accusations against two other justices, lying under oath to a grand jury, and other wrongdoing.
On May 18, a special House committee approved the articles of impeachment against Larsen and forwarded them to the House.
If convicted by the Senate, Larsen would be barred from elected office in the state and would forfeit his pension. Larsen was suspended from the bench last year, but is still receiving his salary.
Larsen, through his attorney, denied the changes. He said he would not resign and would mount his defense at the Senate trial.
One of the articles relates to Larsen's charge that a municipal bond firm, RRZ Public Markets Inc., was making kickbacks to other state Supreme Court justices in return for favorable treatment.
A special grand jury investigated the charges and found no evidence to back up Larsen's allegations. The grand jury recommended that Larsen resign or face impeachment.
After The Bond Buyer published a series of articles detailing Larsen's allegations, RRZ sued the newspaper for defamation. The case is pending in federal court in Philadelphia.
