Judges find Westmoreland register of wills in contempt of court

Westmoreland County’s embattled Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton faces a potential jail sentence for failing to comply with multiple court orders from two judges.

Common Pleas Judges Harry Smail Jr. and Jim Silvis on Tuesday found Hamilton in direct criminal contempt on three counts: disobedience or neglect by an officer of the court; official misconduct as an officer of the court; and misbehavior in the presence of the court and obstructing the administration of justice.

Their orders required her to perform routine duties and comply with standards set during the previous year.

“Ms. Hamilton has shown a continued disdain for the decorum of the court, sustained dereliction in performing directives of the court and a wholesale lack of accountability or acceptance of responsibility for failing to meet the standards of her elected office,” Smail wrote in a 17-page opinion detailing what he said were past and ongoing failures of leadership in the register of wills office.

As part of the finding, the judges said they will appoint a conservator in the coming days to temporarily oversee the courthouse office where records are filed and processed for adoptions, guardianships, wills and estates.

Hamilton will likely continue to serve as the elected register of wills.

Hamilton, a Republican from Hempfield, was elected to her third four-year term last year.

She declined to comment on the court findings and referred questions to her Pittsburgh-based lawyer, Ryan Mergl, who defended her during two days of testimony this year. Mergl did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The judges ordered Hamilton to appear before them on June 17 for a sentencing hearing.

According to court documents previously filed against Hamilton, she was warned that contempt of court findings could result in incarceration, assignment of a conservator over the register of wills office and personal fines up to or beyond $5,000.

Hamilton receives an annual salary of $89,774.

The judges said Hamilton violated two administrative court orders — one issued in late 2022 and another in January — requiring her to take corrective action to clear filing backlogs that delayed adoption certificates and appeals.

Witnesses testified the backlogs persisted for years.

“The totality of the evidence reveals that Ms. Hamilton acted inappropriately in her role as elected leader of her office over the course of a number of years. The problems in the office were pervasive and serious and she did nothing to remedy them,” Smail wrote.

Both previous court orders required Hamilton to correct the filing backlogs and set requirements for her courthouse office to meet specific deadlines to ensure that adoption cases and appeals were filed and processed in a timely manner. Deadlines continue to be missed, the judge determined.

Judges criticized Hamilton for failing to hire adequate staff for her office and for failing to appear in person to oversee operations. Staffers, including Hamilton’s first deputy, testified she was seldom at work and sometimes was present in the courthouse for as few as nine hours a week.

Hamilton testified earlier this year she worked on average as much as 30 hours a week at the courthouse and that her office had mostly complied with the court orders.

The opinion highlighted Hamilton’s failures to lead the office and what the judges said was Hamilton’s refusal to adhere to a full-time work schedule.

Smail wrote that Hamilton “brazenly flouted her responsibilities” and for years let her employees and her office languish while she was not present, and, when she did appear for work, she refused to assist her staff until the court intervened.

“Despite a brief and unusual increase in her presence in the office around the time of the court proceedings, her past practice of absence from the office has resumed,” Smail wrote.

Hamilton was not at the courthouse on Tuesday.