Supreme Court must intervene in PA county with two DAs

When a district attorney dies in a smaller county in Pennsylvania, typically the office’s first assistant is sworn in as the county’s top law enforcement official.

That process, however, did not happen after Susquehanna’s district attorney passed away last month, and now two attorneys are claiming to be the county’s top prosecutor—with one having taken the oath of office and the other having been appointed by the county’s only commissioned judge, reports The Legal Intelligencer.

The two lawyers have also taken their fight to the state Supreme Court. Although the case presents an issue of apparent first impression, it will be up to the justices to determine whether they will decide the case on the merits, or send it back to a trial court for further review.

The dispute began after Susquehanna District Attorney Robert Klein died on Dec. 27 at the age of 53. According to court documents, Klein had been suffering from cancer for several months, and he told the prosecutor’s office about the condition in either late May or early June.

Following Klein’s death, William Urbanski, who had been first assistant under Klein, sent a letter to Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jason Legg telling him that he had become the district attorney of the county pursuant to 16 P.S. Section 1404(b), which says that “in a county of the fourth through eighth class, the first assistant district attorney shall become district attorney” if any vacancy occurs. That portion goes on to say, “If the first assistant district attorney is unwilling or unable to serve, the judges of the court of common pleas shall fill the vacancy by the appointment of a competent person.”

However, Legg declined to swear Urbanski in to the position.

According to court papers, Legg instead determined that Urbanski was not a resident of Susquehanna County at the time of Klein’s death. Applying Section 1401(a), which says “the district attorney shall be a resident of the county” and “shall have resided in the county for which he is elected or appointed for one year next preceding his election or appointment,” Legg held that Urbanski was therefore “unable to serve” as district attorney.

Despite Legg’s holding, Urbanski had Luzerne County Magisterial District Judge James J. Haggerty, a “lifelong friend,” administer the oath of office on Jan. 1, an affidavit from Urbanski said. The ceremony took place at Urbanski’s family farm in Rice Township, Luzerne County, with members of Klein’s family in attendance.

In the meantime, however, Legg reached out to the Susquehanna Bar Association looking for applicants to fill what he deemed to be the vacant district attorney position, and on Jan. 5, Legg appointed attorney Marion O’Malley as the county’s district attorney.

Three days after O’Malley was appointed, Urbanski filed an emergency action with the Supreme Court, arguing that he had not been given a proper hearing on the issue and that the justices should determine him to be the county’s top law enforcement officer.

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