Montgomery County DA Risa Vetri Ferman Speaks Out on PA Supreme Court Decision
Court ruled that recently enacted ethis ordinance does not apply to the district attorney's office.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman and invalidated the county’s ethics ordinance. Ordinance 09-1, which was enacted in 2009, placed a mandatory ethics code on all county offices, both elected and appointed. Chairman James Matthews and Vice Chairman Joe Hoeffel passed the ordinance while Commissioner Bruce Castor opposed the legislation. Ferman said she believed the ordinance was invalid and against the law because she is an independently elected official and the county should not have control over her office. Ferman filed a lawsuit with the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in May 2009. The court ruled in favor of Ferman, as did the Commonwealth Court when the …
