PATCH EXCLUSIVE: Southern Lehigh School Board Member's Ballot Challenge Thrown Out, But Reversal in Similar Case Could Bring Bill Miracle Back to Court

As Southern Lehigh School Board members exited the Lehigh County Courthouse yesterday, they thought the challenge to board member Bill Miracle’s election petition had been thrown out.

“I feel bad about the whole thing,” said Miracle, as people offered their congratulations outside the courtroom. “The whole thing was a waste of good people’s time and effort and there was no reason.”

What they didn’t know was that the legal precedent cited to have the challenge thrown out was, in fact, overturned when appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The original challenge, brought by school board member John Quigley, asserted that Miracle’s financial documents weren’t in order by the election filing deadline.

“All candidates are required to have, as part of their ethics documents, financial disclosure forms,” said Tim Benyo, chief clerk of Lehigh County Registration and Elections. “Everything has to be turned in by the [filing] deadline.”

Sitting toward the front of the courtroom was board president Mike Eddinger, Miracle, school board members Corinne Gunkle and Dr. Elizabeth Stelts, board vice-president Bill Hayes and board member Dorothy Mohr. Quigley sat separately in another section, while board member Jeff Dimmig, a Lehigh County assistant district attorney, came late and sat toward the back.

Initially, president Judge Carol McGinley threw out the challenge based on an improper filing procedure of the challenge. The “flaw” was pointed out by Miracle’s attorney, who cited a previous court case, “in re: Johnson,” on the matter.

“The motions to [challenge] should be dismissed because there was a failure [of John Quigley] to attach a verification to the challenge,” said Miracle’s attorney.

Agreeing with Miracle’s attorney, McGinley threw out the challenge. “Mr. Quigley, just as you sought to have him ruled on a technicality, it has now happened to you,” the judge said.

After Miracle’s case, other challenges were dismissed because of the court decision “in re: Johnson.”  

Attorney Michael Adler, who was in court representing Angelique Papay, a district judge candidate whose ballot challenge against candidate Vincent Stahl was thrown out for the same reason, decided to do a little digging into “in re: Johnson.”

“I just went up to the [Lehigh County Courthouse Law Library] and looked it up,” said Adler. “Something sounded off.”

What Adler found what that the decision in the Johnson case was vacated, or overturned, by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In the case, former Chief Justice Robert N.C. Nix Jr. wrote the decision of the court, which stated “[t]o encumber the election process with ‘niceties in form’ by incorporating the rules of civil procedure by judicial interpretation would frustrate the carefully designed time frame established under the [Election] Code for the expeditious disposition of these objections.”

When presented with the evidence, McGinley vacated her previous ruling in Stahl’s case, continuing it until March 24.

The ruling on the Stahl matter would affect the outcome for Miracle’s challenge -- if Quigley decides to pursue the matter further. “I went and looked up the code myself after the ruling,” said Quigley when reached by telephone at his home. “[The attorney’s interpretation] seemed to be off, but I figured he’s an attorney, and I’m not, so he must know what he’s saying.”

Other board members agree. “On the record, I will say that as an attorney, or as a layperson, this case law is easy to find,” Dimmig said. “There was no reason that this kind of mistake should have been made.”

The real question will be whether Quigley will pursue the challenge, a decision that as of this writing had not been made.

When reached, school board president Eddinger had no comment.