Clerk of court waives numerous row office duties
Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis was summoned to a nearly two-hour meeting Friday with President Judge John DiSalle and other court officials after she waived several of her row office duties earlier this month.
The meeting in DiSalle’s chambers apparently centered around finding a resolution two weeks after Davis filed paperwork in Washington County Court announcing her intention to no longer perform various roles typically handled by the clerk of courts.
Court Administrator Patrick Grimm, who attended the meeting, said they agreed on some changes, but the situation is becoming cumbersome for courthouse operations.
“It’s making some of the operations difficult,” Grimm said. “And in some instances, it’s not clear who is responsible for carrying out a certain task.”
Davis filed her order at the prothonotary’s office Sept. 2 in which she announced she had waived many “duties and responsibilities” effective immediately. Davis outlined 10 jobs she would no longer undertake, including a variety of filings involving criminal cases, state Department of Transportation reporting forms for people trying to get their driver’s licenses reinstated and the collection of various payments.
The paperwork erroneously claimed it was an action taken “jointly” with the county commissioners, court officials and her office. That appeared to allude to a decision in May by the commissioners upon DiSalle’s recommendation to transfer the workers who collect court payments at the clerk of courts office to serve under adult probation instead.
But DiSalle responded Sept. 8 by “staying” her order and required all applicable duties to remain in place until further notice. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts sent Davis a letter the following day denying her request while noting that not all of the waivers are eligible and those that are permitted must be accompanied by a court order appointing another person to perform those duties, which hasn’t happened.
Grimm said the issues have persisted, prompting the meeting Friday. He said defendants who are trying to get their driver’s licenses restored are “being held up” by the waiver and there was confusion last week because Davis refused to accept a filing fee from an attorney trying to submit an expungement petition for a client.
“I think the clerk of courts is insistent that her waiver is valid, and I think it’s clear, both from the communication with the (AOPC) and from the statute, that’s just not the case,” Grimm said.
Davis did not respond to a phone message seeking comment on the meeting or her decision to waive numerous duties typically performed by her office. Dennis Makel, the solicitor for the clerk of courts, declined to discuss details of the meeting but said they made some progress.
“There is a resolution to some of the items,” Makel said.
Grimm said they worked on a “draft agreement” of some of the duties Davis must continue to perform, although there are other items that still need to be discussed and DiSalle apparently wants them in writing and signed by all parties.
Grimm is not sure what will happen if problems persist and the clerk of courts continues to waive her duties.
“It injects a lot of uncertainty into the judicial system,” Grimm said. “What happens next? That’s something the president judge will have to examine, what the next steps are if we can’t reach a resolution.”
DiSalle threatened to hold Davis in contempt in July when he claimed she was not cooperating to help implement the changes with the collections staff moving into adult probation.
A contempt hearing was never held, however, and the transition appeared to be moving smoothly until Davis announced she was waiving many of her responsibilities earlier this month.