Former Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller can again practice law.
The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has granted Parks Miller reinstatement after a suspension that lasted more than two years.
Parks Miller’s law license was suspended on Feb. 8, 2019, by the state Supreme Court for a period of one year and one day.
The suspension came after the Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed a petition in February 2017 accusing Parks Miller of violating rules of professional conduct by engaging in ex parte communications with two judges — Jonathan Grine and Bradley Lunsford — about ongoing cases and by creating a fake Facebook page for her staff to “befriend people and snoop” on witnesses and individuals suspected of selling bath salts. The disciplinary counsel also said the Facebook page continued to be used after the bath salts investigation ended.
An attorney who is suspended for a period exceeding one year may not resume the practice of law until reinstated by the court.
Parks Miller filed for reinstatement on Jan. 28, 2020. On Aug. 3 the disciplinary board unanimously recommended her reinstatement and said in its report that Parks Miller’s “rehabilitation efforts have been successful in addressing the underlying wrongdoing, she is fit to practice law and her return to her practice will not harm the public, the courts or the profession.”
The reinstatement was granted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Aug. 31. She is also ordered to pay the expenses incurred by the board during the investigation and processing of the petition for reinstatement.
Court documents show that during her reinstatement hearing she “admitted that during her disciplinary hearing she did not accept full responsibility for her misconduct and did not covey contrition,” and that “she used the period of suspension to reflect on her actions and has accepted responsibly for her misconduct.”
Parks Miller also admitted that “her informality with judges was wrong and her failure to respect that divide was her fault” and she “testified concerning the Facebook ruse and admitted that she should not have created the page because it was deceptive and, as a lawyer, she was not permitted to engage in deceptive behavior,” for which she apologized.
During her suspension, Parks Miller was employed as a paralegal for attorney William Shaw. She also worked as a certified peer specialist at CenClear, providing services for mentally challenged youth and adults, and she performed research for Professor Rosemary Gido.
After reinstatement, she plans to practice criminal defense and general civil litigation in Centre County.
“I hope I can be a better attorney and a better person because of the things I have done and the consequences of the things that happened to me,” Parks Miller said to the court during her reinstatement hearing. She also said, “I love being a lawyer. I love being in the courtroom. … I love getting to know people, meeting people when they have a problem and sitting down and saying, ‘How can I use my skill set to solve it for them.’ So, I can’t even dream of another job that would make me this happy in terms of satisfied. It’s a purpose.”
This story appears in the Sept. 2-8 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
