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An Allegheny County judge who received a master's degree in business while on the bench is now attending medical school.

Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen, who was elected in 1995, has said his judicial work has not suffered since he began medical school classes via the Internet with the University of Health Services of Antigua. But his attendance record is the worst among his peers.

Machen, 55, of Squirrel Hill took 41 days off from work during an 11-month span ending March 31, the most recent period for which records are available. Machen's time off -- including 16 sick days -- surpasses that of any other local judge.

Machen also had himself excused from serving as criminal division motions judge. All of the 13 criminal division judges take turns hearing motions for two weeks. The task adds about 60 to 90 minutes of additional work each morning.

Common Pleas Judge Gerard Bigley, administrative judge of the Criminal Division, said he approved Machen's request to be excused.

"He just said he doesn't care to do motions," Bigley said.

Bigley said he has not received any complaints about Machen's absences or failure to hear motions. Neither District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. nor Public Defender Susan Ruffner would comment on Machen.

The Allegheny County Bar Association in 2000 ranked Machen fifth from the bottom in legal ability of the court's 41 judges. Four years earlier, Machen was rated worst in a vote of confidence category in a bar association poll of local lawyers.

Machen became a lawyer in 1987 while working as an orthodontist. By 1992, Machen was appointed city magistrate by then-Mayor Sophie Masloff. A year later, Machen lost a bid for the Common Pleas bench as a Republican nominee.

Then-Gov. Tom Ridge appointed Machen to the bench in 1995. He was elected to a full 10-year term that fall.

Fred Egler, president of the local bar association, said he has received no complaints about cases backing up in Machen's courtroom.

"If anything, he has a reputation for handling cases very promptly," Egler said. "I don't see a problem with it as long as he has time to do it."

Court Administrator Raymond Billotte said President Judge Robert Kelly has received no complaints about Machen failing to complete his work. Kelly did not return telephone calls.

Neither state law nor the judicial code spells out how much time off a judge may take, said spokesman Art Heinz of the Pennsylvania Administrative Office of the Courts. Such decisions are left to the president judges in each county. The state pays Machen $121,000 annually.

Bigley said he has never seen any local policy spelling out attendance guidelines.

"His statistics add up to everyone else's," Bigley said.

Court officials refused to provide information about Machen's caseload. That information is routinely published in year-end annual reports.

Bigley described Machen as a bright person whom he can't fault for going back to school.

"We have an obligation to utilize our God-given talents to the utmost," Bigley said.

Machen, who is married to his law clerk Hollie Bernstein, has degrees in law, dentistry and orthodontics. He received a master's of business administration in March 2001 from the University of Chicago.

In an earlier interview, Machen said he attended classes for the master's degree every other weekend and used vacation time to attend a two-week study program in Chicago each year.

In promotional materials for the University of Chicago, Machen is quoted as saying he sought his MBA to help him build a health care consulting business.

Machen declined to answer follow-up questions for this story.

Machen has said he received credit for two years of the four-year Antigua medical school program for his earlier degrees in dentistry.

Saeed Qudsia, a counselor at the West Indies island school, said students arrange their own rotations, in which medical students observe doctors. The university must approve such arrangements.

Machen's medical school studies do not mean he will become a practicing physician. Graduates of foreign medical schools are required to take special tests to get a medical license.

Machen has said he is not sure whether he will seek another 10 years on the bench when his term ends in January 2006.

Machen gained publicity in 2000 when he called an illiterate bigamy defendant "stupid" and "useless" and threatened to send the man to a mental hospital. Machen later called the man back to his courtroom, offered to remove himself from the case, then gave the defendant no penalty on the bigamy charge.

In 1996, Machen sentenced a man to six months in jail after the man slammed the door while leaving Machen's courtroom. The man was released by state Superior Court after serving 70 days in jail.

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