Outside judge likely will preside over Shuman Center lawsuit
Allegheny County’s president judge recused herself, all county judges from hearing case
A judge from outside Allegheny County likely will have to preside over a lawsuit filed by council members over the reopening of the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center after the president judge recused herself and all other Allegheny judges from the case.
Members of Allegheny County Council voted last week to give the go-ahead on a lawsuit to determine if council should have had a say in the process.
The Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, then a county-run facility, closed in 2021 after several troubled years and a series of provisional licenses. Only around 20 youths were being housed there at the time. The center was built to house 120.
The Fifth Judicial District — that is, the Allegheny County court system — announced in mid-September that it was finalizing a contract with the Latrobe-based nonprofit Adelphoi to reopen and operate the facility.
President Judge Kim Berkley Clark applauded the move in the Sept. 15 announcement.
The following week, some county council members pledged to introduce legislation to halt the process, alleging that the County Executive Rich
Fitzgerald’s office does not have the power to contract out use of the facility.
Those members pointed to powers granted to council per the county’s Home Rule Charter — specifically, that council has the power to “by ordinance, lease convey, vacate or abandon, or permit the use of county land, buildings or other real or personal property.”
At the Sept. 26 council meeting, members voted to direct the county solicitor to file a lawsuit
against the county and the executive’s office.
Debate ahead of the vote revealed a sharp divide among members. Councilwoman Bethany Hallam said it wasn’t about how the juvenile justice system should be handled — or the history of Adelphoi as a company — it was whether or not the contract violates the county charter.
“This is about is the county executive and the courts conspiring together to attempt to supersede the authority that is given to us as council members under the county charter. ... That’s all this is about,” Ms. Hallam said.
Judge Clark said at the time that a lawsuit would be a mistake. She said in many recent cases judges have had to send juveniles home with ankle bracelet monitoring systems, and that many of them reoffend. Shuman, she said, would give the county a resource for children who need assistance, she said.
“If we continue to delay, more children will be harmed, and our community will continue to be unsafe,” Judge Clark said.
Ultimately, the move to sue passed in a 9 to 4 vote with two abstentions. Among those who voted against the move: Councilmember-atlarge Sam DeMarco, who said it was well within Mr. Fitzgerald’s right to contract with Adelphoi.
Mr. DeMarco said it was akin to similar contracts and construction work done within county facilities. He likened it to when the county’s Board of Elections moved from the sixth floor of a nearby county building to the third floor after renovations had been completed.
The lawsuit was filed Sept. 29. It seeks a court judgement declaring the contract between the county and Adelphoi invalid as it was not approved by a council vote. It lays out a list of other instances in which a council vote was sought in connection with the use of county property.
On Monday, Judge Clark entered an order recusing herself and “all judges on the bench of the Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania.” She said court administrations will request a visiting judge be assigned to the case via the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
A timeline for such action was not immediately clear. Mr. Fitzgerald’s time as county executive is in its twilight, as the office is termlimited. Democrat Sara Innamorato and Republican Joe Rockey are on the Nov. 7 ballot for the office.
The Adelphoi contract, worth $73.2 million over five years, runs from Sept. 8, 2023, to Sept. 7, 2028, with an option to extend the agreement for an additional five years.