Former Centre County DA’s legal battle continues after 10 years. Here’s the latest
A former Centre County judge will not face questioning in connection with a case that touched off years of bitter dispute between the county’s decision-makers, its top prosecutor and judiciary.
A state Superior Court panel found Tuesday that former Centre County President Judge Pamela Ruest will not have to appear for a deposition about whether she signed a phony court document.
In overturning a lower court’s ruling, three judges wrote in an unsigned opinion that Ruest is immune from testifying about her judicial actions. Her attorney declined comment.
“Questioning a judge during a deposition about factual events that occurred during a judicial proceeding while skirting any inquiry into the judge’s thought process is not practicable,” the panel wrote.
The legal dispute between former Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller and her former paralegal Michelle Shutt is about a decade old.
Parks Miller asked Shutt to prepare a fake bail order as part of an investigation into whether an inmate sought to hire someone to kill a Centre County prosecutor. The document appears to bear Ruest’s signature.
Parks Miller has maintained Ruest signed the document, but Shutt signed an affidavit that said she saw Parks Miller forge the judge’s signature.
Ruest — under questioning from a grand jury — said she could not remember signing the bail order, but also could not recognize if it was her signature. Parks Miller was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Senior Judge David C. Klementik cleared the path in January 2023 for Shutt to pepper Ruest with additional questions about the order, finding it was a “key issue” in Parks Miller’s ongoing lawsuit against Shutt.
The state Superior Court, however, found the ruling to be improper.
“This undeniably implicates the ‘protected sphere’ of Judge Ruest’s conduct in an official proceeding,” the judge wrote. “If the subpoena stood, Judge Ruest would be compelled to testify as to the alleged signing of an order, which is perhaps the most fundamental judicial action. There is no allegation of misconduct against Judge Ruest or that she acted outside of her proper judicial function.”
Parks Miller’s attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said he expects the lawsuit to move forward. He said he “never cared about the deposition,” which he described as a “delay tactic” by Shutt’s attorneys. Messages left with her team were not immediately returned.
Ruest has since retired and is a senior judge. Parks Miller works as a defense lawyer.
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 5:30 AM.