The public image of the state Supreme Court is being damaged by the claims of pornographic e-mail traffic and threats between feuding justices. Yesterday’s suspension of Justice Seamus McCaffery, the man at the center of the email controvery, could calm the controversy — or further inflame the charges and countercharges.

The unsavory e-mail evidence was uncovered in an investigation into the state’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky affair by then-Attorney General Tom Corbett, now Republican governor running for re-election. That probe was launched by state Attorney General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat, who has been accused in the past of using her office for partisan reasons, such as when she dropped a case against three Democratic state lawmakers and a judge who had been recorded accepting money and gifts from an informant.

Once Kane revealed that pornographic e-mails had moved through the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Ronald Castille demanded evidence. When Kane provided the evidence, Castille, a Republican, revealed that justice McCaffery, a Democrat and former Philadelphia police officer had moved 234 sexually explicit or racially inappropriate e-mails.

In a move that made the court look even more juvenile, McCaffery claimed Castille was out to “get” him. Adding to the embarrassment, another justice, Michael Eakin, told the state Board of Judicial Inquiry about offensive e-mails moving through a personal e-mail account he had under the name John Smith.

Eakin said McCaffery threatened to make Eakin’s e-mails public unless he pressured Castille to retract his statements about McCaffery’s pornographic e-mail traffic. Eakin claims McCaffery said he is “not going down alone.”

It’s a circus — and a disgrace.

After the recent scandals involving state lawmakers using taxpayer-paid staffers to do political work, the Supreme Court was seen as relatively untainted, with the major exception of the removal of justice Joan Orie Melvin over using her staff for campaign work.

As bad as the image of some state Supreme Court justices looking at or sending porn-type e-mails is, the public insults and threats make things worse.

The entire matter should have been handled by the Judicial Conduct Board. If that board found reasons to sanction or even remove a justice after a thorough investigation, it could have been done with professionalism. Kane reignited charges of being politically motivated in revealing the pornographic e-mail report. Castille looks political for publicly implicating a political foe on the court.

Instead of reflecting sobriety and professionalism, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is looking more like a bunch of frat boys — using state-provided computers to look at porn, then pointing fingers at over who is to blame.

The institution is already tainted and the public’s faith in the highest court in the state has been damaged. And as this story plays out, it could get worse, with McCaffery’s suspension. It will take years — and probably some changeover in the judges on the court — for the damage to be repaired.

Harrisburg’s ethical failures are familiar: Bonusgate, Cash for Kids and Pay to Play at the Turnpike Commission. Now, the state Supreme Court has joined the list of governmental bodies failing to live up to expectations.