State court sides with Judge Miller in St. John case recusal call

HARRISBURG, PA- A three judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court has affirmed Clinton County President Judge Craig P. Miller’s July 2022 decision not to recuse himself from the trial of Woodward Township resident, Brian St. John, III. St. John stands accused of the February 2021 criminal homicide of Jakob Lee Haines.

In a Memorandum Opinion released on Monday and written by Superior Court Justice Jack A. Panella, the Court concluded that the Commonwealth was not able to produce sufficient evidence that the lower court had “a personal interest in the outcome of this criminal matter” or that Judge Miller had a “bias against a particular class of litigant.” The Superior Court did agree with the Commonwealth that the lower court had failed to fully apply the proper legal standard and analysis, which required the court to conduct an analysis of the public perception and appearance of impropriety an alleged conflict may create. However, as Justice Panella wrote, the Superior Court required the Commonwealth to also establish that the trial judge “harbors a personal bias against the Commonwealth.”

The Commonwealth had filed the appeal after Judge Miller denied the motion for recusal filed by District Attorney Dave Strouse on May 20, 2022. Strouse had sought a new judge because of past Miller ties between the defendant’s mother, Bethy St. John, and one of the defendant’s attorneys, George Lepley. Both the mother and Lepley took the stand at a hearing on July 7, 2022, and answered questions from the DA about their past involvement with the President Judge. Mrs. St. John had retained Miller as an attorney in his pre-judicial days in 2006 and Lepley testified that he has known and had a relationship with Judge Miller dating to 1984. Lepley and Miller worked together as co-counsel in at least five high-profile murder trials in the 1990’s and 2000’s, which required the two men to work extensively together for long periods of time, according to Lepley.

The Commonwealth can seek to have the Superior Court’s decision reviewed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court within the next 30 days. When asked about his intentions in the aftermath of the court decision, District Attorney Strouse was non-committal.

“Obviously, I have a different perspective than the Superior Court, but I also respect the decision,” Strouse said. “My priority remains justice for Jakob and his family, and justice has been delayed too long. But we will still fully discuss and consider all of our appellate options before moving forward.”