SUNBURY— Northumberland County Commissioner Kym Best has a huge conflict of interest…so say her fellow commissioners Rick Shoch and Sam Schiccatano. They say Best is an attorney representing a person bringing a federal lawsuit against Northumberland County.
Shoch brought up the fact that Commissioner Best is a supervisor to prison employees and that asking them to testify against the county may put them into an conflicted position, “You are supervising employees who now may be called to the stand in that action, how comfortable are they going to be giving testimony that hurts the case and it could potentially hurt their careers.”
Best and her husband, Timothy Bowers are representing former inmate Stephanie Olin who is suing the county and prison officials for alleged abuse of power and violence against Olin. Both Shoch and Schiccatano say they do not condone Best’s actions and believe this is a clear conflict of interest for a sitting commissioner to represent a case against the county.
Shoch believes there should be law against it, “I don’t’ know technically whether it’s a violation of anything. If it is not, I think we should be talking to our local legislators about having something enacted to make this illegal.” Kymberley Best responded to the press conference with these statements to WKOK.
“Prior to my election, my husband, Tim Bowers, and I represented two clients with suits against Northumberland County. The first was Stephanie Olin who claimed she was assaulted by a guard while she was an inmate in Northumberland County Prison.”
She says after her election in November of 2015 she was aware of her obligation to both her clients and the county and contacted the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s ethics advisor. Best said, “The ethics advisor and I discussed conflicts of interest under the Rules of Professional Responsibility. The conclusion was that there was no conflict of interest so long as I refrained from voting on issues and participating in discussions concerning Ms. Olin’s case.” (Sarah Benek)
Here is the full text of Best’s response:
As we approach the Ides of March, Rick Shoch and Sam Schiccatano have drawn their political knives with an ambush press conference. Like Brutus against Caesar, Shoch ganging up to lead a cowardly attack on me.
I want to cut through the confusion caused by this desperate, purely political attack. Let’s start with some facts.
Prior to my election, my husband, Tim Bowers, and I represented two clients with suits against Northumberland County. The first was Stephanie Olin who claimed she was assaulted by a guard while she was an inmate in Northumberland County Prison. The second was Hope Lewis, the widow of Cyrus Lewis who tragically committed suicide in NCP while he was awaiting trial.
When I was elected, Ms. Olin’s suit was at an advanced stage. Discovery was complete and the case was poised for settlement, summary judgment or trial. Ms. Lewis’s suit was at a rather early stage with discovery just getting underway.
After I was elected in November 2015, I was deeply aware that I had obligations both to my clients and to Northumberland County. When lawyers in Pennsylvania want guidance on ethics issues, they can turn to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s ethics advisor. I immediately called her.
The first issue we discussed is that a lawyer’s first duty is to the client. We talked about how leaving Ms. Olin’s case at an advanced stage of litigation would potentially harm her. We concluded that there were two issues, ethical and political. Ethics were paramount, politics were irrelevant. Through our conversation, I concluded that my duty, even if it harmed me politically, was to stay on board Ms. Olin’s case.
With respect to Ms. Lewis’s case, we concluded, after consultation with Ms. Lewis, that her case could be safely referred to other counsel whom we deeply trust.
Of course, the ethics advisor and I discussed conflicts of interest under the Rules of Professional Responsibility. The conclusion was that there was no conflict of interest so long as I refrained from voting on issues and participating in discussions concerning Ms. Olin’s case.
With this in mind, let’s look at Mr. Shoch’s allegations. First, Shoch’s shock is completely feigned. I have been counsel of record in this matter since we sent our first demand letter in 2013. I have never withdrawn my appearance from this matter. What is not shocking is that Shoch now uses this matter for political purposes.
Mr. Shoch spuriously claims that I have had “unfair access to information.” This is completely false. In this case there have been only two sources of County documents used at trial. County attorney Sean McDonough provided us with many documents during the course of discovery, most of it prior to the time I took office. The second source was the Northumberland County Clerk of Courts, where we photocopied documents from Ms. Olin’s criminal case just like any member of the public could. Mr. Shoch, as an attorney, really should have a better grasp of the discovery process.
More troubling is Mr. Shoch’s weak understanding of County government. He is either ignorant or lying when he argues that I might have endangered the careers of people who answer to the Commissioners. The relevant County witnesses in this case are prison staff and probation officers. Prison staff are answerable to the Warden and the Prison Board. Probation officers answer to the President Judge. I have no authority to hire or fire anyone.
Further, I have contacted no current County employees regarding this case. Consistent with my duties to my client, I did contact one former probation officer who is no longer employed by the County. The entire exchange can be viewed by anyone at www.pacer.gov, looking up Ms. Olin’s case, and viewing documents 63 and 64. I urge readers to view the actual documents for themselves and make up their minds.
Mr. Shoch’s grasp of insurance law is even shakier. My attempts to seek justice for those who are wronged do not cause insurance problems. Ignoring or covering up wrongful conduct by County employees causes insurance problems. Ms. Olin’s suit started when Shoch was a commissioner and I was just a lawyer. He could have acted at any time to settle this matter or to take action against employees for misconduct. Yet, Shoch chose to do nothing because he didn’t care what the cost was to the County as long as he got to unleash a political attack down the road.
Finally, the County at no time made any request for my disqualification despite having well over a year to do so. No motion was filed asserting any conflict of interest. The simple reason, as County lawyer Sean McDonough agreed yesterday, is that there is no conflict under the Rules of Professional Responsibility.
(portion redacted)
I have continued to do my duty to my client and I am proud of it. As we must not try the case in the media, I will not comment about the merits of the suit until the jury has returned a verdict. However, I will say that any commissioner seriously interested in knowing what goes on with NCP staff should have been listening to Monday’s public testimony in Harrisburg, not cowering, plotting and scheming in the commissioners’ office.
Kymberley Best
Commissioner
