Efforts to remove Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton from office could come down to three words: “Misbehavior in office.”

Duquesne University School of Law Professor Bruce Ledewitz said judges could make that finding as part of a sentence imposed next month for contempt of court that allows them to remove her from the office to which Westmoreland County voters elected her to last fall.

“At that hearing, if the judge interprets her actions constituted misbehavior in office, he can at the time of sentencing remove her from office,” Ledewitz said.

Westmoreland County Judges Harry Smail Jr. and Jim Silvis this week found Hamilton in direct criminal contempt of court for violations of their administrative orders for failing to meet deadlines, clear backlogs of filings and improve operations of her courthouse office where adoption, guardianship, wills and estate records are processed and filed.

Hamilton, a Hempfield Republican, is scheduled to be sentenced in June. She faces a potential jail term and fines, according to court records. She was elected last fall to her third, four-year term that runs through 2027.

Hamilton, who was at the courthouse Thursday, declined to comment. She referred all questions to her private, Pittsburgh-based defense attorney, Ryan Mergl. Mergl did not respond to requests for comment.

As a result of the contempt of court finding, County Commissioner Ted Kopas called on Hamilton to resign and, in the alternative, for state lawmakers to begin impeachment proceedings to remove her from office.

Westmoreland County solicitor Melissa Guiddy said state law allows multiple methods for Hamilton’s removal. The state House can initiate and vote to impeach Hamilton. That option requires a two-thirds vote by the state Senate before Hamilton would be removed.

A second option is for the Senate to investigate and vote to ask Gov. Josh Shapiro take action to remove Hamilton from her role as register of wills.

Both options are costly and time consuming, Ledewitz said.

Representatives respond

Members of Westmoreland County’s state House delegation Thursday said they needed additional time to review Hamilton’s case.

“These charges are very serious and truly disconcerting,” said state Rep. George Dunbar, R-Penn Township. “I am taking this very seriously, and I’m not dismissing this out of hand.”

State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, said Hamilton’s situation will be a topic of discussion among Westmoreland County lawmakers in Harrisburg.

“We will wait for the full legal process to play out and review the judge’s … opinion and discuss the next steps, if any,” Nelson said.

Dunbar and Nelson were among the 107 state House members who, in 2022, voted to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner over what they claimed were allegations of misbehavior in office for the selective prosecution of certain crimes.

The state’s Commonwealth Court ruled last year the allegations against Krasner did not meet the standards of misbehavior in office. The case is pending before the state Supreme Court.

State Rep. Eric Davanzo, R-Smithon, who also voted to impeach Krasner, said there are significant differences between the Krasner and Hamilton cases. The allegations against Krasner involved risks to public safety, Davanzo said. Hamilton’s situation involved public record keeping.

“At this point, I’m not there yet,” Davanzo said regarding a potential impeachment effort against Hamilton.

In the contempt of court finding against Hamilton, the judges cited multiple factors saying she disobeyed or neglected court orders, and there was official misconduct and misbehavior in the presence of the court.

Smail said a conservator will be appointed to temporarily oversee the Register of Wills Office.

Hamilton will remain in office and continue to earn her $89, 774 annual salary.

Ledewitz questioned the effectiveness of the conservator plan.

“If she’s still there, then a conservator of the office has no authority. She has to be removed,” Ledewitz said. “I think the only way this works, as a practical matter, is if the judge considers her actions as misbehavior in office and removes her from office.

“Let her appeal and appoint a conservator.”

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