Opinion ID: 363598
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Uncertainty of State Law.

Text: 13 D'Iorio's claim that he could be terminated from his employment only by action of the County Council is founded upon Section 1211(b) of the Delaware County Home Rule Charter, which provides as follows: 14 All employees of the county on December 31, 1975, except those holding offices abolished by this charter, shall continue in employment, at rates of compensation during the year 1976 not lower than their salary levels existing on December 31, 1975, until succeeded or removed by action of council. 7 15 Agreeing with D'Iorio's argument, the district court determined that abstention was not appropriate since there is no Unclear question of state law involved because the requirement that there must be Council action in order to discharge plaintiff is clear on the face of the Charter. D'Iorio v. County of Delaware, 447 F.Supp. 229 (E.D.Pa.1978). 8 16 While the district court's characterization of section 1211(b) as clear on (its) face cannot be gainsaid when reference is made only to that particular section of the Charter, the ostensible clarity of this provision becomes much less obvious when account is taken of other provisions of the Charter and of state law. In particular, Section 503 of the Charter, which vests the County District Attorney with power to oversee and supervise the employment of county detectives, was not considered by the district court. This section reads in relevant part as follows: 17 b. The District Attorney shall appoint and supervise the Criminal Investigation Division whose function it shall be to provide to the District Attorney, local government police departments as requested, and such other law enforcement agencies or authorities as approved by the District Attorney, professional criminal investigative services in support of the county criminal justice system. 18 c. The District Attorney may appoint and supervise county detectives who shall have all powers presently conferred by Commonwealth law, who shall be general police officers and shall have all powers conferred on constables by existing laws of the Commonwealth so far as they relate to crime or criminal procedures. 19 Substantial arguments have been advanced by the District Attorney and County Council members that Section 503 is a specific exception to Section 1211(b). It is contended that the District Attorney's power to appoint and supervise in a case such as this one includes the power to discharge. First, the plain meaning of the term supervise may be understood as including within its contemplation the power to discharge. 9 Second, the plausibility of this construction is supported by the fact that other provisions of the Charter providing for appointment by department heads do not include the power to appoint And supervise. 10 Finally, the County District Attorney is an elected, not an appointed, official of the county. Accordingly, in the exercise of the power to discharge department employees he would be held politically accountable to the general county electorate. 20 In addition to considering the effect of section 503(b) of the Home Rule Charter as it impacts upon section 1211(b), it appears that certain provisions of state law must be considered as well. The legislation providing for the adoption of home rule charters, the Home Rule Charter and Option Plans Law, Penn.Stat., Title 53, §§ 1-101 et seq. (Purdon 1974), provides in relevant part that: 21 All acts and parts of acts, local, special, or general, affecting the organization, government and powers of (a municipality adopting a home rule charter) which are not inconsistent or in conflict herein, shall remain in full force until modified or repealed as provided by law. Id. at § 1-401. 22 In keeping with this provision, Section 501 of the Home Rule Charter states: 23 The District Attorney shall be elected to a four year term. Except as otherwise provided in this charter, the District Attorney shall have all the powers and duties granted by Commonwealth law, by laws applicable to counties of the Second Class A for District Attorneys, by this charter or by ordinance of Council. 24 The Second Class County Code, Penn.Stat., Title 16, §§ 3101 et seq. (Purdon 1956 & Supp.1978), which established the form of government in Delaware County prior to adoption of the Home Rule Charter, states: 25 The district attorney may appoint one chief county detective, an assistant chief county detective, and as many county detectives, sergeant, special county detectives and junior county detectives as the salary board shall fix. Id. at 4440(a). 26 These employees could be terminated in accordance with the provisions of § 3450 of the Second Class County Code: 27 Appointees to county offices or positions other than to elected offices shall be subject to removal at the pleasure of the appointing power, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, and they shall also be removed on conviction of misbehavior in office or of any infamous crime. 28 No express determination was made by the district court on the doubtful issue as to whether the Home Rule Charter has entirely superseded these provisions of the Second Class County Code, or whether, in accordance with section 501 of the Home Rule Charter, these provisions of the Second Class County Code continue to authorize the district attorney to discharge county detectives. Nor did the district court attempt to reconcile section 1211(b) with either section 503 or the Second Class County Code provisions. 29 Pennsylvania case law may also be relevant in defining D'Iorio's legal rights with respect to his tenure as a county detective. 11 In Hartshorn v. Allegheny County, 9 Pa.Cmwlth. 132, 304 A.2d 716 (1973), the Commonwealth Court held that Allegheny County detectives were policemen within the meaning of a state statute, Penn.Stat., Title 43, § 217.1 (Purdon Supp.1978), conferring on policemen and firemen the right to bargain collectively with their public employers. Kretzler v. Ohio Township, 14 Pa.Cmwlth. 236, 322 A.2d 157 (1974), in turn, interpreted the Local Agency Law, Penn.Stat., Title 53, § 11302 (Purdon 1972), as requiring that township police officers be afforded an administrative hearing prior to a reduction in rank, and that both the appointing authority and the officers be granted an opportunity for judicial review. But cf. Amesbury v. Luzerne County Institution District, 27 Pa.Cmwlth. 418, 366 A.2d 631 (1976) (at will employee of county institution district has no due process right under Local Agency Law). Again, the district court did not consider whether these cases are relevant to D'Iorio's discharge despite enactment of the Home Rule Charter. 30 It may well be that ultimately the district court will be vindicated in its conclusion, in that the Council may be adjudged to be the appropriate discharging authority. However, in the context of abstention analysis, our task is, as we have stated, limited to determining whether the state law which controls this issue is uncertain. Once we conclude that such is the case, we are not free to resolve that uncertainty ourselves. Rather, we must leave that merit determination to the state courts provided the other abstention criteria, discussed Infra, are consistent with that resolution. From our discussion thus far, it is apparent that the state law underlying D'Iorio's constitutional claims is highly uncertain, particularly since the Delaware County Home Rule Charter has only recently been enacted and has not been authoritatively construed by the courts of Pennsylvania. We are convinced, therefore, that state law, far from being clear, is so sufficiently unsettled that the first criterion prerequisite to abstention has been satisfied. 31