In re Commonwealth

212 A.3d 1

IN RE: Return of Seized Property of LACKAWANNA COUNTY

Petition of: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

No. 93 MM 2018

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued: December 5, 2018

Decided: July 17, 2019

OPINION

JUSTICE DOUGHERTY

This appeal concerns a motion for return of property filed by several Lackawanna County governmental entities ("County") relative to materials seized by the Office of Attorney General ("OAG"). The OAG seized the County's property pursuant to search warrants issued by the Supervising Judge of the 41st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury. We consider whether the County's motion for return was properly filed in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, and whether it must be adjudicated by the Supervising Judge. We also consider whether the Supervising Judge was empowered to issue the underlying search warrants.

I. Background

As the issues in this case relate to the 41st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, we begin by providing some brief context regarding its formation. On November 30, 2016, then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Bruce Beemer petitioned this Court, pursuant to the Investigating Grand Jury Act, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 4541 - 4553, for an order directing the convening of a multicounty investigating grand jury having statewide jurisdiction to investigate organized crime or public corruption or both. See In re Application of Beemer , 174 MM 2016 (Nov. 30, 2016). This Court, through an order signed by Chief Justice Saylor,¹ granted the Attorney General's application on December 9, 2016, as required by the Act. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 4544(a) (where Attorney General's application for multicounty grand jury satisfies relevant statutory criteria, the Court shall issue order granting application within ten days).

Consistent with the dictates of 42 Pa.C.S. § 4544(b), the Court's order included an array of content typical of such orders. For example, it designated the location of the 41st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury in Montgomery County, and specified the manner in which the jurors were to be selected. The order also appointed a Supervising Judge, the Honorable Anthony A. Sarcione, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the 15th Judicial District, Chester County, and instructed that "[a]ll applications and motions relating to the work of the [41st] Statewide Investigating Grand Jury — including motions for disclosure of grand jury transcripts and evidence — shall be presented to the Supervising Judge." Order, 12/9/2016, at 1.² Further, pursuant to Section 4544(b)(2), the order provided that "[w]ith respect to investigations, presentments, reports, and all other proper activities of the [41st] Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, Judge Sarcione, as Supervising Judge, shall have jurisdiction over all counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Id. at 1-2. And finally, the order directed Judge Sarcione to maintain control of transcripts, evidence, and matters occurring before the grand jury as provided by Pa.R.Crim.P. 229 and 42 Pa.C.S. § 4549. Id. at 3.

After the 41st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury was empaneled and an investigation was ongoing, an OAG Special Agent and a Pennsylvania State Trooper applied to Judge Sarcione for four warrants to search and seize certain property belonging to the County. See Applications for Search Warrants, Reproduced Record ("R.R.") at 67a, 72a, 77a, and 82a. On September 20, 2017 and September 21, 2017, Judge Sarcione approved the warrants. Id. Thereafter, the OAG, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police, executed the search warrants upon the Lackawanna County Prison, the Lackawanna County Community Corrections Center, the Lackawanna County Administration Building, and the Lackawanna County Center for Public Safety.³ The OAG seized various materials pursuant to the warrants, including computers, hard drives, email servers, and other files, documents, and records. See Receipts/Inventory of Seized Property, R.R. at 84a-117a.

On November 9, 2017, the County filed a motion for return of property pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 588.⁴ Notably, the County filed its motion in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, which comprises the 45th Judicial District. The matter was assigned to the Honorable John Braxton, Senior Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the 1st Judicial District, Philadelphia County.⁵

In its motion, the County advanced a threefold argument to support its claim of entitlement to lawful possession of the seized materials. First, the County argued the underlying search warrants were unconstitutionally general and overbroad. See Motion for Return of Property, R.R. at 50a-53a. Second, it asserted the seizing of judicial and other governmental officials' property infringed upon various privacy interests and legal privileges. See id. at 54a-59a. Third, it claimed the search warrants were invalid under Pa.R.Crim.P. 200. See id. at 60a-62a.

With respect to this final claim, the County explained a "search warrant may be issued by any issuing authority within the judicial district wherein is located either the person or place to be searched." Id. at 60a, quoting Pa.R.Crim.P. 200. The County noted the places to be searched were all located in Lackawanna County, i.e. , in the 45th Judicial District, yet Judge Sarcione identified his title on the search warrants as a Court of Common Pleas Judge in the 15th Judicial District. According to the County, "[a]s a member of the 15th Judicial District — not the 45th — Judge Sarcione did not have authority to issue the search warrants under Pa.R.Crim.P. 200 for items to be seized in Lackawanna County." Id. at 61a.

On November 13, 2017, the OAG filed a response to the County's motion. Without confirming or denying the existence of a grand jury investigation due to secrecy concerns, the OAG nevertheless challenged the lower court's jurisdiction to hear the motion for return. See Response to Motion for Return, R.R. at 126a-127a.⁶ In support, the OAG pointed to this Court's order appointing Judge Sarcione as Supervising Judge and, in particular, the order's instruction that "[a]ll applications and motions relating to the work of the [41st] Statewide Investigating Grand Jury ... shall be presented to the Supervising Judge." Id. at 127a, quoting Order, 12/9/2016 at 1. In the OAG's view, the order supplied Judge Sarcione with "exclusive jurisdiction" over the County's motion for return because the motion challenged search warrants issued in connection with an investigation of the 41st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury. Id.

Two days later the parties appeared for a hearing before the lower court. The County contested the notion Judge Sarcione had jurisdiction over the motion, arguing there is "no authority for a civil matter or a return of property [motion] to be heard by a grand jury." N.T. 11/15/2017 at 5; see also id. (contending a motion for return of property "does not belong in a grand jury proceeding"). The County further challenged Judge Sarcione's authority to issue the underlying search warrants, on the basis "there is nothing in the Grand Jury Act that authorizes search warrants." Id. at 8. In response, the OAG maintained the relevant source of authority as to both matters was this Court's December 9, 2016 order which, according to the OAG, granted Judge Sarcione "jurisdiction over all counties throughout the Commonwealth" and authorized him "to handle any ancillary matters that may come up throughout the course of the grand jury conducting [its] business." Id. at 6. As the OAG believed the motion for return to be ancillary to the work of the 41st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, it requested the "entire matter be sealed and transferred to Judge Sarcione." Id. at 7. Following oral argument, the court held the matter under advisement.⁷

On May 11, 2018, the lower court issued an opinion and order, ostensibly limited to the jurisdictional question. See Trial Ct. Op., 5/11/2018, at 1 ("This Opinion and Order will solely address proper jurisdiction of this matter and will not address the substantive Motion on the merits."). In sum, the court determined the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, rather than the Supervising Judge of the 41st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, had jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the County's motion for return of property. Id. at 9. In reaching this conclusion, the court reasoned Rule 588 controlled, in that it "explicitly states that a motion for return of property ‘shall be filed in the [c]ourt of [c]ommon [p]leas for the judicial district in which the property was seized." Id. at 8, quoting Pa.R.Crim.P. 588(A). As additional support, the court cited In re Seized Property of Bartholomew , 26 Pa.D & C.4th 122 (C.P. Lehigh 1995), wherein a common pleas court judge adjudicated a motion for return of property even though the property had been seized pursuant to a search warrant issued by a statewide investigating grand jury. The lower court recognized "the issue of proper jurisdiction was not discussed" in the Bartholomew case, but nevertheless found that nonbinding authority "directly on point" and "persuasive." Trial Ct. Op., 5/11/2018, at 4, 9.⁸ Finally, regarding the underlying search warrants issued by Judge Sarcione, the court remarked the Investigating Grand Jury Act "makes no mention of search warrants" and Pa.R.Crim.P. 200 "specifically indicates" search warrants must be issued by an issuing authority within the relevant judicial district. Id. at 9.

On May 21, 2018, the OAG filed an application to reconsider and to certify the court's order for immediate appeal pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 702(b). Simultaneously, the OAG filed in this Court a petition for permission to appeal or, in the alternative, a petition for review. The County opposed both filings.

On June 20, 2018, the lower court denied the OAG's application insofar as it sought reconsideration, but granted the OAG's request to certify the order for immediate appeal. Thereafter, this Court directed that...