Karoly v. Mancuso (majority)
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In 2005, Appellees Monroe County Detective Eric Kerchner and First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso were investigating and prosecuting Dennis Slayton for theft and drug-related offenses, as well as Jill Goldstein in connection with the drug offenses. Appellant John P. Karoly, Jr., Esq., was acting as Slayton's attorney. Goldstein appeared at a bail revocation hearing represented by Eric Dowdle, Esq. At the conclusion, bail was revoked and Goldstein was placed in custody at the Monroe County Correctional Facility (MCCF). The next day, Goldstein called Slayton from the jail. During the conversation, Appellant, who was with Slayton, began speaking with Goldstein. The MCCF recorded the conversation. In a direct appeal involving alleged intentional violations of the Wiretap Act, the issue before the Supreme Court was whether the Commonwealth Court erred in granting a defense motion for summary judgment. In the amended complaint, Appellant alleged that Appellees committed multiple violations of the Wiretap Act, most notably that: ADA Mancuso violated Section 5703(2) of the Act by disclosing the conversation between Appellant and Goldstein when he included it in legal filings that were not placed under seal; and ADA Mancuso and Detective Kerchner conspired to transmit such filings to the press. On the basis of this conduct, Appellant asserted that Appellees intentionally violated the statute and, as such, should be removed from their employment pursuant to Section 5726. "In [this] context, the most obvious manner of accomplishing the appropriate investigative and law-enforcement use of the intercepted conversation . . . would have been to file the motion and brief under seal. The failure to do so, as all parties acknowledge, caused the intercepted conversation to become a matter of public record." The Supreme Court found that the Commonwealth Court did not evaluate whether the unsealed filing of the motion and brief was permissible under Section 5717. Because this issue, as well as an appropriate treatment of the alleged disclosure to the press, were material to the outcome, the Court found that the Commonwealth Court improperly granted Appellees' motion for summary judgment. Thus, the case was remanded for hearings on these questions, the question of intent, and/or on whether Appellees acted in good-faith reliance on the Act.
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