Two judges are back in court this week to renew their legal struggle with Centre County, but their request remains the same: keep the county government from releasing records they claim are off-limits.
On Wednesday, Centre County judges Jonathan Grine and Kelley Gillette-Walker filed new motions in what has become a contentious dispute over the Right to Know law.
Grine and Gillette-Walker, who are both suing the county government, argue they will suffer “irreparable harm” unless the judge hearing their case intervenes.
Huntingdon County Judge Stewart Kurtz preliminarily ruled against Centre County earlier this year, ordering the county not to release anymore records relating to Grine or Gillette-Walker in response to Right to Know requests.
Centre County is appealing Judge Kurtz’s order over a nuanced aspect of the Right to Know law. The county believes the phone records are actually public financial records it was legally obligated to release when requested.
When Centre County filed its appeal, it invoked a legal doctrine called “automatic supersedeas” that effectively puts the lawsuits on hold while the appeal plays out.
However, Grine and Gillette-Walker both take issue with the county’s appeal in their Wednesday court filing. They claim it would give the county free reign to release whatever records it wants because the supersedeas would invalidate Kurtz’s order.
Grine and Gillette-Walker say the unique circumstances of this case give Judge Kurtz the power to strike down the supersedeas to keep his order in place. Both judges argue their privacy will be violated if the order preventing the release of records is not in effect.
The two judges also argue that allowing the county to release the records would violate the separation of powers between different branches of government. When Centre County released some of their phone records to attorneys, Grine and Gillette-Walker successfully argued the records were judicial documents the county didn’t have the authority to release.
Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller is also suing Centre County in a similar lawsuit, and raised similar concerns about the county’s appeal earlier this week.
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