Judge withdraws from Westmoreland County prison board

Westmoreland County’s jail oversight board for now will operate without representation from the court.

Prison Board Chairman Doug Chew said Monday during the board’s monthly meeting that Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. has withdrawn from the body that includes the three county commissioners, Sheriff James Albert, District Attorney Nicole Zicarrelli and Controller Jeffrey Balzer.

Smail was appointed to the prison board in early 2023. Before his appointment, county judges for about a decade opted out of serving on the advisory board that oversees operations at Westmoreland County Prison.

According to a court order signed in late August, President Judge Christopher Feliciani withdrew Smail as a board member without explanation.

Feliciani could not be reached for comment Monday.

In making Smail’s appointment two years ago, Feliciani said it was important for judges to have a say in and a better understanding of how the county lockup operates.

Smail, who works in the court’s civil division, said he was recently tasked by Feliciani to oversee efforts to strengthen the program that appoints private attorneys to represent indigent criminal defendants in cases where public defenders have conflicts of interest. In addition, he worked to expand a system to appoint guardians and lawyers for adults and children in need of representation during family court proceedings.

“I’m going to take on a bigger project,” Smail said, adding that effort along with overseeing his growing court caseload and other responsibilities left him short on time to devote to the prison board. “I recommended to Judge Feliciani that he replace me with an alternate judge.”

It remains unclear whether Feliciani will appoint another judge to serve on the prison board.

Common Pleas Judge Michele Bononi continues to serve as a member of the county’s juvenile detention board.