County may face lawsuit
Butler County faces a lawsuit if the two part-time jury commissioner posts are not retained.
Larry Thompson, president of the Pennsylvania State Association of Jury Commissioners, said there would be a lawsuit unless the county commissioners reverse their May decision to cut the elected posts for 2014.
“Butler County will be litigated,” Thompson said.
Thompson, the county deputy register of wills/clerk of orphans' court, is a former county jury commissioner.
County Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, said state law was followed when the posts were placed on the chopping block May 23.
“We weren't breaking any laws,” McCarrier said.
He said any lawsuit against the county would waste taxpayers' money.
“I would be disappointed if there would be legal action taken against the county,” McCarrier said.
Thompson said the plaintiffs in the lawsuit would be the three people who ran for the posts in the May primary, Clinton Bonetti, Jon Galante and Pat Stirling.
Bonetti won the Democratic seat while Galante beat Stirling for the Republican seat. Jury commissioners have no opponents on the November ballot.
Thompson said the plaintiffs would cover any costs to file the lawsuit, which would be tried in county court.
Attorney Samuel Stretton, who does some legal work for the jury commissioners association, will be involved in the case. Thompson said a local attorney also may work on the civil complaint.He said there are constitutional issues related to the commissioners' May vote because it violated the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary branches of government.Thompson said eliminating the posts after the candidates spent money on campaigns is wrong.Galante said county residents are upset that elected positions were cut.“They really are infuriated about this,” he said.Bonetti agreed: “They feel the (county) commissioners took away their right to vote.”Galante spent nearly $10,000 on his campaign. He defended his decision to run knowing the state authorized counties to eliminate jury commissioners.He compared the situation to driving — there's always the possibility a motorist would be in a wreck.“Are you not going to drive?” Galante asked.Bonetti said the candidates not only had a financial investment, but also had their time and effort.He said the commissioners should have acted much sooner than May.“If they had said it back in February, that would be a different story,” Bonetti said.Stirling said she agreed to join a lawsuit because the posts should be retained.“I believe the jury commissioner post is an important position that protects the integrity of our judicial system,” she said in an e-mail. “The fact that I lost does not change my belief that it represents an important protection for our citizens.”The county commissioners initially voted in November to keep the jobs in a 2-to-1 vote with Commissioner Dale Pinkerton dissenting.Pinkerton argued the move would save the county money. For 2013, the salaries and benefits of the jury commissioners is budgeted at roughly $71,000.County court administration stated its office could absorb the duties, which entail forming jury pools.Along with President Judge Thomas Doerr, the jury commissioners comprise the jury commission.Tom Holman, deputy court administrator, declined to comment on any possible litigation against the county.
Holman said no steps have been taken to assume the duties of the jury commissioners.“It would be premature for us to make any plans,” he said, referring to pending hearings in state Commonwealth Court in which the jury commissioner association is challenging the law authorizing counties to abolish the posts.McCarrier sided with county Commissioner Jim Eckstein in the November vote, but switched his stance in May.Eckstein was absent from the May meeting to attend a conference in Harrisburg, so the jury commissioner posts were cut in a 2-0 vote.Galante criticized McCarrier and Pinkerton for scheduling a vote on the issue two days after the primary.According to Galante, the jury commissioners should have been informed before the preceding Monday that the vote was being considered.“Nobody knew,” he said. “The way they went about it was unacceptable. People are very upset about this.”Stirling also was disappointed with McCarrier and Pinkerton.“When I announced my intentions to run, I received no indication from any of the commissioners that they were considering elimination of the post,” she said.Stirling said it's unfair for the commissioners to wait until a candidate spends thousands of dollars and solicits financial support, conduct a primary and then ignore the election results.“It is unfair to the voters and to the candidates who ran, whether winners or not,” she said in her e-mail.Thompson sent a letter this week to the commissioners asking them to rescind their May vote.According to the letter, “The legal and constitutional issues raised therein are substantial and expose the citizens and taxpayers of Butler County to the possibility of unnecessary and costly litigation going forward.”McCarrier said he couldn't respond to the letter because he hadn't received it yet.Pinkerton declined to comment.Eckstein wasn't surprised by the prospect of a lawsuit. He lauded Thompson for giving the county an opportunity to avoid litigation.According to Eckstein, the jury commissioner posts should not have been cut following the primary.“We're the only one who did it afterward,” he said. “I really cherish our electoral process.”Eckstein said his colleagues' timing was suspect.“They jumped onto the bandwagon when one had a conflict of interest,” he said.Eckstein maintains Pinkerton wanted to eliminate the jury commissioners to gain leverage in a defamation case against Eckstein.Pinkerton, who is one of three people suing Eckstein, has repeatedly stressed his only motivation was to save the county money.Stirling countered that the cost for jury commissioners is minimal.Court officials insist jury tampering isn't possible because the names of potential jurors are computer-generated.However, Bonetti said there still should be involvement from people outside the court.“We are the people's watchdog,” he said.County solicitor Mike English said he couldn't specifically address Thompson's comments or letter.“I can't comment on any proposed litigation,” English said. “If and when a lawsuit is filed, we'll respond appropriately.”Eckstein said he would make a motion at a future commissioners meeting to restore the posts.
