Lead Opinion
In this appeal, we decide whether the office of Stacy Parks Miller - (“Parks Miller”), the District Attorney of Centre County, Pennsylvania, is -an “office or entity of the unified judicial system” and thus properly classified as a “judicial agency” for purposes of application of Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know . Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104 (“RTKL”).
In a unanimous, published en banc opinion, the Commonwealth Court concluded that a district attorney’s office is not a “judicial agency” for purposes of the RTKL. Miller v. Cty. of Centre,
We agree with the Commonwealth Court. Examination of the RTKL, the definitional section of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 102, and the definitions provided
I. Background
A. Factual History
Between 2014 and 2015, several Centre County criminal defense attorneys submitted separate RTKL requests to Centre County (“County”) seeking emails, text messages, instant messages, and/or other electronic communications exchanged between Parks Miller and certain members of the Centre County judiciary, including Court of Common Pleas Judge Jonathan Grine and Magisterial District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker (collectively, the “Judges”). The RTKL requests also asked the County to produce a log of text messages, phone calls, and voicemail messages, including the date and time of each call/ text message, the duration of the call, and the substance of the text message/voice-mail, if available.
The County responded to the RTKL requests without notifying Parks Miller or the Judges. Am. Compl., ¶¶27, 38. The County produced, inter alia, electronic billing information provided to it by Verizon and created color-coded spreadsheets that tracked usage between the Judges and Parks Miller’s office, including the time, date, length of call, and type of communication (call or text). Id., ¶ 25. The spreadsheets did not reveal the content of the communications. Because Parks Miller’s office email resides on the County’s server, the County also read her emails during the relevant periods, determined which were subject to disclosure, and produced them to the requesters without Parks Miller’s knowledge. Id., ¶¶ 20-21, 30, 32. The records obtained by the attorney-requesters were subsequently used in criminal cases to demonstrate improper ex parte communications between Parks Miller and the Judges. Id., ¶¶ 23, 25.
B. Procedural History
Parks Miller and the two Judges each filed a separate action requesting declaratory and injunctive relief, seeking to enjoin the County from responding to any RTKL requests on their behalf. The trial court consolidated the actions filed by the two Judges, and entered a preliminary injunction enjoining the County from making any response to RTKL requests for judicial records and directing that such requests instead be forwarded to the open records officer designated for the appropriate judicial agency (pursuant to County policy, the Prothonotary and/or the district court administrator). On appeal, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the trial court’s entry of a preliminary injunction. Grine v. Cty. of Centre,
In her separate action, Parks Miller alleged that a district attorney’s office is a “judicial agency” under the RTKL. Citing to the definition of the phrase “system and related personnel” in the Pennsylvania Rules of Judicial Administration, which references “district attorneys,” Parks Miller contended that district attorneys’ offices are part of Pennsylvania’s unified judicial system. Asserting that hers is a “judicial agency” under the RTKL, Parks Miller argued that only the financial records of her office are subject to disclosure in response to RTKL requests. See 65 P.S. § 67.304.
Following a hearing on May 13, 2015, the trial court accepted Parks Miller’s argument and granted the injunction. The trial court entered an order preliminarily enjoining the County from “making any response to any request made pursuant to the [RTKL] for judicial records relating to
The County appealed the trial court’s decision to grant Parks Miller a preliminary injunction. In a unanimous en banc opinion, the Commonwealth Court reversed.
This Court granted discretionary review to answer the following'question: “Do district attorneys and their offices constitute ‘judicial agencies’ as defined under Section 102 of the Right-to-Know-Law, 65 P.S. § 67.102?” Miller v. Cty. of Centre,
Parks Miller further contends that a finding that district attorneys are “judicial agencies” under the RTKL does not violate the separation of powers doctrine because the Supreme Court already supervises and regulates district attorneys under the Judicial Code and the Rules of Judicial Administration, as district attorneys are included in “system and related personnel.” She also submits that her prosecutorial role is not a reason to exclude her from the unified judicial system, as the function of district attorneys is closely intertwined in the judicial process. According to Parks Miller, there could be no criminal justice component to the “unified judicial system” without district attorneys, who extensiyely participate in, and exclusively serve, the unified judicial system. She concedes she is not a member of the judiciary and has no judicial functions, but claims she is “part of a ‘team’ comprised of judges, court staff, lawyers, clerks, etc. that, taken as a whole, serve the ‘unified judicial system.’ ” Parks Miller’s Brief- at 24. For these reasons, Parks Miller insists that a district attorney’s office, including hers in Centre County, is a “judicial agency” under the RTKL.
In response, the County asserts that the Commonwealth Court correctly held that a district attorney’s office iá not a “judicial agency” under the RTKL.
Relying upon In re Act 147 of 1990,
II. Analysis
The courts of this Commonwealth long have recognized that citizens have a common law right to the inspection of public documents. Mooney v. Temple Univ. Bd. of Trs.,
With respect to agencies of this Commonwealth,1 the common law right to inspect public documents was codified through the General Assembly’s enactment of the Right to Know Act (“RTKA”), 65 P.S. §§ 66.1-66.4 (repealed, effective January 1, 2009). Fenstermaker,
In 2008, the General Assembly enacted the RTKL, replacing the RTKA. The revisions to the RTKL changed the method of access to an individual’s personal information and set forth new criteria to determine whether information is protected
Unlike the RTKA, the RTKL has some application to the judiciary. All records in the possession of Commonwealth and local agencies are presumed to be public records subject to disclosure, unless they are exempt under a section 708 exception, subject to a privilege, or are otherwise exempt under another state or federal law, regulation, or judicial order or decree. 65 P.S. § 67.305(a). In contrast, only financial records
Parks Miller argues that her office is a “judicial agency” entitled to claim the limited disclosure requirements under the RTKL. Section 102 of the RTKL defines a “judicial agency” as “[a] court of the Commonwealth or any office or entity of the unified judicial system,” 65 P.S. § 67.102. The question presented here requires that we engage in statutory interpretation to assess the scope of this term. The Statutory Construction Act, 1 Pa.C.S. §§ 1501-1991, recognizes that the objective of all interpretation is to ascertain and effectuate the General Assembly’s intent. 1 Pa. C.S. § 1921(a). A statute’s plain language generally provides the best indication of legislative intent. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b). However, if the words of the statute are not free from ambiguity, the intention of the General Assembly may be ascertained by considering, inter alia, the occasion and necessity for the statute, the object or policy goals to be obtained, and the consequences of a particular interpretation. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(c).
Parks Miller attempts to shield herself from the disclosure obligations of the RTKL by insisting that her office is a “judicial agency.” Parks Miller’s argument relies entirely upon the facially curious inclusion of district attorneys within the definition of “system and related personnel” set forth in the Judicial Code and the
In addition to the courts of the Commonwealth, the term “judicial agency” in the RTKL includes “any other entity or office of the unified judicial system.” 65 P.S. § 67.102. The “unified judicial system” is defined by the Judicial Code and by this Court’s Rules of Judicial Administration. In particular, the term “personnel of the system” includes “[¿judicial officers, personal staff, administrative staff and central staff.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 102; see Pa. R.J.A. 102. The term “related staff’ is defined as “[a]ll individuals employed at public expense who serve the unified judicial system, but the term does not include personnel of the system.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 102; Pa.R.J.A. 102. The term “system and related personnel” is defined to include district attorneys, as follows:
The term includes district attorneys, public defenders, sheriffs and other officers serving process or enforcing orders, registers of wills, prothonotaries, clerks of the courts, clerks of the orphans’ court division, coroners, jury commissioners, probation officials, and the personnel of all of the foregoing.
42 Pa.C.S. § 102; see also Pa.R.J.A. 102;
Because district attorneys are “system and related personnel,” but are not “personnel of the unified judicial system,” it follows that they are “related staff.” “Related staff’ expressly are not “personnel of the system.” A fortiori, such staff cannot be personnel or entities or offices of the unified judicial system. Rather, “related staff’ are “those whose function aids the judicial process but who are not supervised by the courts.” Id. Under the plain language of the RTKL, the Judicial Code, and the Rules of Judicial Administration, district attorneys (like public defenders, sheriffs, and others identified as “system and related personnel”) are not “judicial agencies.” Accordingly, Parks Miller cannot invoke the protections for judicial agencies provided by the RTKL.
It appears that the inclusion of district attorneys (among others) within the category of “system and related personnel” was undertaken for limited administrative purposes. See, e.g., 42 Pa.C.S. § 3502 (permitting governing authorities to establish accounting methods to be used in connection with funds handled by system and related personnel); id. § 3544 (requiring political subdivisions to pay for the salaries of system and related personnel); id. § 4101 (requiring the coordination of activities between, inter alia, courts, system and related personnel, and political subdivisions to avoid duplicating functions); see also Pa.R.J.A. 505(11) (providing that the administrative office has the power to supervise administrative matters relating to system and related personnel); Pa.R.J.A. 506 (requiring all system and related personnel to comply with directives from the administrative office).
The inclusion of district attorneys within the definition of “system and related personnel” in the Judicial Code and Rules of Judicial Administration does not transform district attorneys into members of the uni-fled
Chief Justice Saylor and Justices Baer, Todd and Mundy join the opinion.
Justice Donohue files a concurring opinion in which Justice Dougherty joins.
Notes
. Act of February 14, 2008, P.L. 6, 65 P.S, §§ 67.101-67.3104, as amended.
,. In the present appeal, Parks Miller notes that the documents at issue in her appeal are the same documents that the Commonwealth Court held were not subject to disclosure under the RTKL in the Judges’ appeal. Parks Miller’s Brief at 26. She contends that the Commonwealth Court "unnecessarily injected a layer of complexity and an opportunity for mischief” by requiring multiple RTKL analy-ses for the same documents. Id. The issue in the present appeal, however, is entirely different from that addressed by the Commonwealth Court in the Judges’ appeal, specifically the difference between whether district attorneys, as opposed to judges, are a part of the unified judicial' system. Moreover, as the Gounty correctly observes, the decision in this appeal will have far-reaching implications well beyond the production of the documents at issue here, as a decision that Parks Miller and her office are “judicial agencies” under the RTKL will extend to the production of all public documents in her possession or control (and those of other district attorneys), regardless of any involvement with members of the judiciary. County’s Brief at 25-26.
. The Centre County Office of Open Records, the Pennsylvania Newsmedia, Association and the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the County Commissioner’s Association, of Pennsylvania and the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania have all filed amicus briefs with this Court in support of the County's, position.
. The RTKL defines "financial records,” to include “any account, voucher or contract dealing with: (i) the receipt or disbursement of funds by an agency; or (ii) an agency’s acquisition, use or disposal of services, supplies, materials, equipment or property.” 65 P.S. § 67.102.
. In at least one case, the Commonwealth Court has posited that given the limited disclosure requirements for public judicial records under the RTKL, the common law right to access to these records remains intact. Faulk v. Phila. Clerk of Courts,
. The Rules of Judicial Administration define "[s]ystem and related personnel” as follows:
Personnel of the system and related staff. The term includes district attorneys, public defenders, sheriffs and other officers serving process or enforcing orders, registers of wills, prothonotaries, excluding prothonotaties of the Supreme Court, Superior Court and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, clerks of the courts, clerks of the orphans’ court division, prison and correctional officials, and the personnel of all of the foregoing.
Pa.R.J.A. 102.
. Justice Donohue would eschew an approach that examines the definitions provided either in the Judicial Code or in the Rules of Judicial Administration, opining that the definitions provided therein apply, respectively, only to that title and those rules. Concurring Opinion at 1170-71. However, courts routinely invoke the definitions provided in the Judicial Code and the Rules of Judicial Administration to aid in interpreting other statutes with undefined terms, including the RTKL. See, e.g., HSP Gaming, L.P. v. City Council for City of Phila.,
Unlike In re 2003 Gen. Election for Office of Prothonotary,
Concurrence Opinion
CONCURRING OPINION
1 agree with the Majority’s conclusion that a district attorney’s office is not a “judicial agency” for purposes of Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104 (“RTKL”). I do not agree, however, with the Majority’s use of definitions taken from the Judicial Code and the Pennsylvania Rules of Judicial Administration (“PRJA”) in its attempt to define the term “judicial agency.” Contrary to basic principles of statutory interpretation, the Majority ignores the clear language of the Judicial Code and the PRJA with respect to the express limitations on the use of the definitions set forth therein. Moreover, the Majority offers no basis for concluding that the General Assembly intended for these definitions to apply when construing terms in the .RTKL.
By their clear language,' the Judicial Code and the PRJA reflect that the definitions contained therein are intended to apply only to the defined terms contained in those statutes and rules. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 102 (“The following words and phrases when used in this title shall have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
This Court explained the proper application of the Statutory Construction Act with respect to statutory definitions in In re 2003 Gen. Election for Office of Prothonotary,
Furthermore,. the Majority offers no sound basis for its apparent (but unexpressed) conclusion that the General Assembly, when enacting the RTKL, had any legislative intent to “borrow” definitions from either the Judicial Code or the PRJA to provide guidance on the meaning of terms used in the RTKL. There is no indication, in either the Judicial Code, the PRJA or the RTKL, that the General Assembly, in drafting the RTKL, intended for these definitions to be consulted to define terms in the RTKL. Instead, the Majority notes only that the use of the phrase “unified judicial system,” which is used in the definition of “judicial agency” in section 102 of the RTKL, is defined in the Judicial Code and the PRJA. Id. at 12. This coincidence does not equate with a legislative intent to use that definition when interpreting the RTKL. If we were left'with no other source for the meaning of the phrase, the Majority might be justified, as a last resort, > in .relying on the Judicial Code and our rules.
While the Commonwealth Court has borrowed the definitions in the Judicial Code- and the PRJA to aid in the interpretation of the RTKL and other statutes,
I would apply straightforward principles of statutory interpretation to discern the intent of the legislature as to the disclosure requirement for district attorneys. Parks Miller claims placement under the RTKL as a “judicial agency,” which is defined as “[a] court of the Commonwealth or any office or entity of the unified judicial system.” 65 P.S. § 67.102. Parks Miller does not contend that her office is a court of the Commonwealth. Instead, she insists that her office is “an entity or office of the Unified Judicial System.”
We need not grapple with the precise parameters of the phrase “entity or office” as used in the RTKL since in her brief filed with this Court, Parks Miller correctly identifies herself, in the context of our Constitution, as an “executive branch official.” Parks Miller’s Brief at 24 (emphasis added). As a result, under the RTKL, Parks Miller is not a “judicial agency” but rather is a “Commonwealth agency,” which the RTKL defines as “[a]ny office ... of the executive branch.” 65 P.S. § 67.102. The RTKL’s definition of “Commonwealth agency” makes clear that “ ‘Commonwealth agency' and “judicial agency” are mutually exclusive terms under the RTKL, as a ‘Commonwealth agency’ ,,. does not include a judicial or legislative agency.” Id, Unlike a judicial agency, for which the disclosure requirements under the RTKL are limited to the production of financial records, 65 P.S. § 67.304, all records in the possession of a Commonwealth agency are presumed to be public records available for access in response to a RTKL request (absent a statutory exception, privilege, or other law, regulation or court order). 65 P.S. §§ 67.301, 67.305, 67.701. By her own admission, Parks Miller is a Commonwealth agency and thus not entitled to the limited disclosure requirements under the RTKL reserved only for judicial agencies.
Moreover, any ambiguity in the RTKL’s definition of “judicial agency” as including “an entity or office of the Unified Judicial System,” is clarified by the application of basic principles of statutory interpretation. For present purposes, the relevant principles under the Statutory Construction Act to interpret ambiguous terms include the requirement that we must presume that the General Assembly “does not intend a result that is absurd, impossible of execution or unreasonable.” 1 Pa.C.S. § 1922(1). Likewise, we must presume that the General Assembly “does not intend to violate the Constitution of the United States or of this Commonwealth.” 1 Pa.C.S. § 1922(3).
First, an interpretation that district attorneys and their offices are “judicial agencies,” thereby limiting disclosure under the RTKL to financial records, would result in an absurd and unreasonable result plainly pot intended by the General Assembly. Under Article IY of the Penn-, sylvania Constitution (“The Executive”), the Governor, as the head of the executive branch of government, is tasked with the duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” and the Attorney General is the “chief law officer of the Commonwealth.” Pa. Const, art. IV, §§ 2, 4.1. Within this constitutional structure, this Court has stressed that district attorneys’ basic function, like the Attorney General’s, is the enforcement of the Commonwealth’s penal laws:
Prior to 1850, investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses in Pennsylvania were exclusively the duty of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, although in practice he delegated' this duty by. appointing- deputy attorneys general for the several counties. See Commonwealth ex rel. Specter v. Freed, [424 Pa. 508 ,228 A.2d 382 , 383-84 (Pa. 1967)]. In 1850 the General Assembly enacted legislation which provided for the election of these deputy attorneys general. The successor to that statute presently provides, in relevant part, that ‘(t)he district attorney shall ...' conduct in court all criminal and other prosecutions, in the name of the Commonwealth ,.. and perform. all the duties which, prior to May 3,1850, were performed by deputy attorneys general.’ Act of July 5,1957, P.L. 484, s 1, 16 P.S. s 1402(a)[ 4 ] (Supp, 1969). If this statute means anything at all, it. means that district attorneys in this Commonwealth have the power — and the duty — to represent the Commonwealth’s interests .in the enforcement of its criminal laws
Com. ex rel. Specter v. Bauer,
In addition to section 1402(a) of the County Code specifically referenced by this Court in Bauer, the General Assembly has subsequently enacted the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, 71 P.S. §§ 732-101-732-506. Section 206(a) provides, in relevant part, that the “Attorney General shall be the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth; the district attorney shall be the chief law enforcement officer for the county in which he is elected.” 71 P.S. § 732 — 206(a); see also Pennsylvania Gamefowl Breeders Ass’n v. Com.,
Based upon this understanding of the role of district attorneys in Pennsylvania’s constitutional scheme, district attorneys and their offices are clearly not “judicial agencies,” as such an interpretation would constitute an absurd and unreasonable result plainly not intended by the General Assembly. Section 102 of the RTKL expressly names the office of the Attorney General as a “Commonwealth agency,” 65 P.S. § 67.102, and, as noted above, section 305 provides that all records in the possession of a Commonwealth agency are presumed to be public records available for access in response to a RTKL request (absent a statutory exception, privilege, or other law, regulation or court order). 65 P.S. §§ 67.301, 67.305, 67.701. Accordingly, if this Court were to interpret the RTKL’s definition of “judicial agency” to include district attorneys and their officers, then the chief law enforcement officer at the state level (the Attorney General) would be statutorily obligated to produce all public records in his or her possession, but the chief law enforcement officer at the local level (district attorneys) would have no corresponding statutory obligation to do so.
By imposing full disclosure responsibilities on the office of the Attorney General, the General Assembly plainly recognized that the overall goal of the RTKL, namely, to promote openness and afford citizens access to information concerning the activities of their government officials, extends to those constitutionally and statutorily charged with the sovereign function of enforcement of the Commonwealth’s penal
Second, because Parks Miller is a member of the executive branch, her preferred interpretation of “judicial agency” in the RTKL would constitute an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers doctrine. This Court reaffirmed the basic principles of the separation of powers doctrine in Jefferson Cty. Court Appointed Employees Ass’n v. Pa. Labor Relations Bd.,
This separation depends on two distinct concepts, as.embraced by the framers of both the federal and Pennsylvania constitutions: (1) no branch- may usurp a function belonging to another and each must operate within its own separate sphere of power; and (2) a system of checks and balances exists, which prevents one branch from acting unchecked. See [Loving v. United States,517 U.S. 748 , 757,116 S.Ct. 1737 ,135 L.Ed.2d 36 (1996); Beckert v. Warren,497 Pa. 137 ,439 A.2d 638 , 642 (Pa. 1981) ]. The allocation of these powers among the three branches of government serves to avert the danger inherent in the concentration of power in any single branch or body because “[t]he accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judicial, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” Beckert,439 A.2d at 642 , citing The Federalist No. 47 (James Madison).
Id. at 706-07; see also Beckert,
In In Re Act 147 of 1990,
As a peace officer, and as a process server, a constable belongs analytically to the executive branch of government, even though this job is obviously related to the courts. It is the constable’s job to enforce the law and carry it out, just as the same is the job of district attorneys, .sheriffs, and the police generally. Act 147 is unconstitutional and violates the separation of powers doctrine in ourConstitution because it attempts to place constables within the judicial branch of government and under the supervisory-power of the judicial branch.... Personnel whose central functions and activities partake of exercising executive powers cannot be arbitrarily made part of another branch of government whose functions they do not perform.
Id. at 990 (citations omitted).
An interpretation of “judicial agency” under the RTKL that includes district attorneys and their offices as parts of the unified judicial system would violate the separation of powers doctrine, as it would constitute an attempt by the General Assembly to place members of the executive branch of government (district attorneys) within the judicial branch.of government subject to this Court’s general supervisory and administrative authority. This Court, however, has ruled that Pennsylvania courts have no power of review over the actions of the executive branch involving acts of discretion in the absence of bad faith, fraud, capricious action or abuse of power.
For these reasons, I concur in the Majority’s decision to affirm the decision of the Commonwealth Court, but I cannot join in its reasoning.
Justice Dougherty joins this concurring opinion.
. In Commonwealth v. Fithian,
. Bray v. McKeesport Hous. Auth.,
. As an alternative argument, Parks Miller contends that we should recognize her office as a "judicial agency” under the RTKL because she and her office “operate almost exclusively within the confines of the court system” and thus are “part of a ‘team’ compromised of judges, court staff, lawyers, clerks, etc. that, taken as a whole, serve the 'unified judicial system.’" Parks Miller’s Brief at 24. As part of this "team,” Parks Miller insists that her office “becomes part of the greater 'system' of justice, not as a member of the ‘judiciary,’ but as an indispensable entity or office that serves the whole system, which this Court calls ‘the unified judicial system.’ ” Id. at 25.
I reject out-of-hand Parks Miller's notion that district attorneys and the judiciary are on the same "team.” It dangerously conflates those charged with asserting and prosecuting criminal charges on behalf of the citizens of this Commonwealth, i.e„ district attorneys, with those charged with overseeing and adjudicating those charges through the impartial administration of justice, i.e., the judiciary. Parks Miller’s highly generalized view of the unified judicial system misconstrues the role of district attorneys in our constitutional system.
. Section 1402(a) of the County Code provides, in relevant part: "The district attorney shall sign all bills of indictment and conduct in court all criminal and other prosecutions, in the name of the Commonwealth, or, when the Commonwealth is a party, which arise in the county for which he is elected, and perform all the- duties which, prior to May 3, 1850, were performed by deputy attorneys general.” 6 P.S. § 1402(a).
. In its amicus brief, the ACLU of Pennsylvania advises that the RTKL has been a critical tool in obtaining information about; and accountability for, decisions made by district attorneys. ACLU-PA Brief at 15. The ACLU-PA specifically references its dependence on information relating to district attorneys’ practices relating to the interpretation and application of criminal statutes, including the enforcement of civil asset forfeiture laws. Id. at 16 & nn.9-10. •
. As such, I reject Parks Miller's contention that she and the attorneys working in her office are already subject to this Court’s supervisory powers because they must abide by this Court's Rules of Professional Conduct and may be reported to the Disciplinary Board for any failures to do so. Parks Miller’s Brief at 22-23. Parks Miller fails to distinguish between this Court's authority to license and discipline all attorneys practicing law in this Commonwealth and our lack of supervisory power over the discretionary acts of prosecutors.