Westmoreland County’s register of wills could face a potential jail sentence if found in contempt of court for violating two judicial orders that mandate improvements in the operations of her office.

It’s a finding rarely made in Pennsylvania, especially against elected officials, according to legal expert Bruce Antkowiak.

“This is unusual because, in most of these cases, the courts figure the electoral process will take care of this where you truly have a dereliction of duty,” said Antkowiak, a law professor at Saint Vincent College in Unity.

The case against Sherry Magretti Hamilton involves accusations that the three-term Republican officeholder is in contempt of court orders issued in November 2022 by Common Pleas Judge Jim Silvis and Jan. 31 by Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr.

The judges said a ruling is forthcoming.

Hamilton, who for two years served as the deputy register of wills before winning her first election and taking office in 2016, has appeared in court three times since late January. She’s been forced to address accusations that her office, which oversees the filing of adoption records and estates, has not processed documents or appeals in a timely manner.

Some filings had been delinquent dating back to 2019, according to testimony.

The court orders required her office to meet specific filing deadlines and, according to testimony at two daylong hearings last month, witnesses said, while improvements have been made, backlogs remain. Hamilton said staffing shortages led to the filing delays while also blaming issues in her office on disloyal staffers.

During a hearing last week, two staffers who have worked in the office with Hamilton since 2015 rebutted her testimony that she was actively on the job at the courthouse for between 20 and 30 hours each week. They claimed she worked partial days and only about nine hours weekly, failed to assist in the work and did not participate in the training of new staff.

Antkowiak said Hamilton’s legal issues are unusual. As an elected official in charge of a court-related office, Hamilton could be subject to a provision in the contempt law that says a violation must occur in the presence of the court to constitute misconduct.

“It’s an interesting question. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of precedent on that. Using a standard interpretation, it would seem to apply,” Antkowiak said, suggesting elected officials who have not performed their duties as ordered by the courts could be subject to a contempt finding. “No one expects a person elected to these jobs is going to file all the paperwork. The job is to make sure that gets done by other people.”

Hamilton’s lawyer argued there was no misconduct and that her alleged deficiencies in running the office did not occur in the presence of the court, a required element needed to find her in contempt.

A judge in 2022 found now former Washington County Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis in contempt of court and sentenced her to serve 15 days in jail and pay a $5,000 fine.

Davis was accused of disobeying a court order that required her office to transfer juvenile case files to another office. According to accounts, Davis refused to appear before the judge to answer contempt charges and threw a tantrum and claimed she was assaulted in the hallway outside the courtroom.

The state Superior Court upheld the contempt finding, ruling that her actions occurred in the presence of the court.

Hamilton isn’t accused of acting inappropriately before the judges or failing to appear in court when ordered to do so. Her case appears to center on allegations that she failed to properly manage the Register of Wills Office and violated court orders.

Smail questioned office employees during last week’s hearing about the legal concept of “vicarious liability.”

Antkowiak said that legal theory suggests an elected officeholder is responsible for the actions or inactions of their staff.

It’s a notion that elected officials must consider, said Bryan Kline, who served as Westmore­land County’s elected clerk of courts for 10 years.

“You’re always responsible when a court order is handed down by a judge. You have to follow that. You take an oath of office, and it’s your responsibility for everything that happens in that office,” Kline said.

Elected officials, he said, have the primary responsibility to delegate and oversee staff to make sure required benchmarks are met.

“When you assume one of these roles, you accept responsibility for the office,” Kline said.

Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.