Allegations from a decade ago surrounding former Centre County court officials are still the subject of a recent state court decision.
It’s a document dating back to 2013 that’s behind a new ruling this week from the state superior court; specifically, did former Centre County President Judge Pamela Ruest actually sign the document or was her signature forged?
A former paralegal, Michelle Shutt, in former Centre County district attorney Stacy Parks-Miller’s office reportedly signed an affidavit saying she saw Parks-Miller forge the judge’s signature.
Parks-Miller has denied the forgery allegation; the document was a fake bail order tied to a Centre County Prison inmate being investigated in a hitman scheme.
Last year, a judge ordered Judge Ruest to appear for a deposition on whether the signature is hers, but this week, the state superior court reversed that ruling, saying Judge Ruest does not have to answer questions about the signature because it would delve into the judge’s thought processes, and judges are immune from giving such testimony.
Judge Ruest previously testified to a grand jury that she didn’t remember signing the document, and also could not recognize if it was her signature.
The superior court decision also states that there’s no allegation of misconduct against Judge Ruest, who has since retired from her Centre County judicial post, and is now a senior judge.
