Disciplinary hearing scheduled for DA Stacy Parks Miller

A new twist in the ongoing issues in the Centre County Courthouse will see the district attorney on the defensive.

According to the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, DA Stacy Parks Miller has a hearing scheduled for Nov. 29 in the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg.

The board’s website also lists a petition for discipline filed against Parks Miller on Feb. 22. The petition and the hearing have the same case number.

Parks Miller lost her primary bid for a third term in May to Bernie Cantorna, a defense attorney who was one of a long list of people she sued for defamation and other charges after allegations were raised that the DA forged a judge’s signature on a fake bail order as part of an investigation.

That suit was recently dismissed by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals with the exception of a count of breach of fiduciary duty against her former paralegal, Michelle Shutt, who testified to the forgery. That claim was sent back to the trial court to address.

Shutt also has a case in front of the Third Circuit against Parks Miller.

The DA also recently filed paperwork to start lawsuits against a new list of defendants, including Bellefonte borough, its police Chief Shawn Weaver, Centre County Commissioner Mike Pipe, a former Ferguson Township police officer and the tech consulting firm that employs him, which has secured data devices associated with allegations of texting between Parks Miller’s office and judges.

Parks Miller has repeatedly called the scandal politically motivated and denied wrongdoing in both the texting and the alleged forgery. The forgery was investigated by the Office of the Attorney General and a grand jury, which agreed with testimony from two handwriting experts from the same firm that determined the signature was that of Judge Pamela Ruest.

This story was originally published August 17, 2017 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Disciplinary hearing scheduled for DA Stacy Parks Miller."