The board’s recommendation, which was filed
Thursday, is an increase over the three-month suspension that the hearing
committee recommended in the case. The state Supreme Court must
make the ultimate decision regarding Parks Miller’s disciplinary case, but if
the high court imposes the lengthier suspension, it will add more than a few
months, since attorneys suspended for longer than one year need
to petition for reinstatement before they can begin practicing again.
Parks Miller faces charges stemming from ex parte
communications she had in seven matters, most of which involved retired
Centre County Judge Bradley
Lunsford, as well as charges stemming from the creation of a fictitious
Facebook account, which made friend requests to defendants and friended the
pages of several establishments suspected of selling bath salts.
According to the disciplinary board’s 45-page
recommendation, the Facebook issue raised a novel question in Pennsylvania of
whether a prosecutor violates disciplinary rules by “engaging in a covert
activity through the use of social media.”
Although the hearing committee had determined that
the conduct was not a violation but only showed “lack of care” by Parks Miller,
the disciplinary board said the conduct rose to the level of a violation.
“[Parks Miller] knowingly created a fake social
media persona, provided access to a fake Facebook page to her staff, and
indicated that the page should be used to ‘masquerade’ and ‘snoop’ around on
Facebook,” the filing said. “The Facebook page created by [Parks Miller] and
disseminated to her staff was fake, and constituted fraudulent and deceptive
conduct.
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