For the second time in as many weeks, the Valley justice system has been hit hard by the news that Snyder-Union Chairman Justice Michael Sholley will retire at the end of the year.
Sholley’s retirement follows news that his Northumberland County counterpart, Charles Saylor, is also retiring in early 2023. Unlike Northumberland County, things will be a bit more uncertain in the Inter-County District. The other judge, Lori Hackenberg, has been sitting for less than a year. While quickly learning the role of a county judge, Hackenberg will now be responsible for the duties of presiding judge, the administrative roles of both Snyder and Union county courts, as well as criminal and civil matters and the court of treatment.
To accompany this transition, District Attorney elections in both counties will be held in 2023. Union County Attorney D. Peter Johnson has previously stated that he is not seeking re-election and the County Attorney Snyder’s Mike Piecuch said he plans to run as a judge if there is a vacancy. The news also comes just a few years after Justice Michael Hudock retired.
Sholley said he chose to retire at the end of the year to allow an election to be held and not leave Hackenberg, who took office in January, without a full-time colleague on the bench for two years. Sholley said he expects to fill in some gaps as senior judge after he retires.
“Most of my friends are retired and I wanted to do this while I can still hike in the mountains,” he said this week.
Regardless of what the court system will look like in 2023 and beyond, the two-county district will be missed by Sholley, who has been on the bench since 2010.
He leaves a void that spans multiple lanes in the county, particularly when it comes to child welfare and family preservation.
In 2019, Sholley won Lawyer of the Year awards from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Department of Social Services for her support of children in foster care.
A member of the Pennsylvania State Roundtable, which focuses on child welfare issues throughout the Commonwealth and is part of a small group based in the Valley, Sholley serves on the kinship task force at the state level, which examines issues regarding the placement of children with family members. The Local Roundtable brings together agencies, faith-based organizations, school districts, community members and other professionals who work with children and families to develop solutions to the issues they face.
Piecuch is right when he calls Sholley’s retirement a “loss” to the region. “He has built a legacy of public service that deserves respect. He has big shoes to fill.
NOTE: Opinions expressed in editorials for The Daily Item are the consensus of the editor, key newsroom executives and editorial board community members. Today’s was written by publisher William Bowman.