'Blessing and responsibility': Judges with local roots take over top roles in Cambria, Somerset

Jan. 15—Cambria and Somerset counties' new president judges have spent their entire legal careers in the communities where they were born and raised.

Cambria County President Judge Linda Rovder Fleming and Somerset County President Judge Scott Bittner described becoming their respective counties' top judges as a unique and humbling responsibility — one that also comes with challenges as both counties' benches have vacancies.

Somerset County, which normally has three elected judges, is operating with two after former President Judge D. Gregory Geary stepped down in late October.

Cambria County saw Judges Michael Carbonara and Forrest Fordham III take the bench this month, with one vacancy remaining due to former Judge David J. Tulowitzki's retirement in September.

'Born and raised here'

Both Fleming and Bittner returned to their home counties after finishing law school.

Fleming is a 1981 graduate of Westmont Hilltop High School. She earned an undergraduate degree from Penn State in pre-law and business before going to Dickinson School of Law, where she got her law degree. She spent 22 years in private practice as a family law attorney at the Ayres, Ayres & Fleming firm.

Bittner was born in the Jennerstown area — and said his parents have often reminded him that he started talking about being a lawyer at a young age. It was a natural interest, he said.

"As far as I know, I'm the first attorney in my family's history," he said.

After graduating from North Star High School, Bittner attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He said he had two job offers from Pittsburgh firms after finishing law school at Duquesne University in 1997.

Bittner said he enjoyed Pittsburgh's offerings such as Steelers and Penguins games, but feeling drawn back to the Laurel Highlands, he and now-wife Lisa chose Somerset. He spent a year working as a law clerk at the Fike, Cascio & Boose law firm in Somerset — a life-changing decision, he now realizes.

Joining Fike, Cascio & Boose "broadened my horizons, because I got a chance to do everything," he said, including cases in criminal and civil courts, real estate and municipal law.

"I'm dealing with a lot of the same types of cases now as a judge," he said.

Bittner said that fellow Somerset County attorneys, many of them older colleagues who he respected, convinced him to run for judge in 2015. He's now in his ninth year on the bench.

"I'm still very happy that I came back to Somerset County to practice law and become a judge," Bittner said on Thursday. "This is not just a job for me. It's where I was born and raised — and I'm mindful that the decisions I make on a daily basis impact our county in a number of ways."

'Eternally grateful'

Fleming, who was born and raised in the Johnstown area, is entering her 14th year as a Cambria County judge. She said she can remember wanting to be a pediatrician growing up and was even accepted into a Penn State program for pre-medicine.

However, after joining the forensics team during her junior year of high school, she discovered a passion for speaking and began wondering how she could turn that into a career. That's when she shifted her focus to pre-law.

"In hindsight, I'm so glad I did," Fleming said.

Since becoming a Cambria County Court of Common Pleas judge, Fleming has kept her specialty of family law, a subject to which she said she's always gravitated.

Fleming said that there is a degree of satisfaction in letting clients know that she cares about their problems — and she added that the same goes for those who come before her while she is on the bench.

The idea to run for judge came from now-Senior Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III, her predecessor as Cambria County's president judge.

"I'm eternally grateful to him for making that suggestion," Fleming said.

Krumenacker said he thinks Fleming will excel as president judge and he wishes her the best in a difficult job.

When Fleming was sworn in Jan. 2, she became the first female president judge in Cambria County history, continuing a legacy of trailblazing in her career. She was also the first woman to serve as a Cambria County Court of Common Pleas judge and as the Cambria County Bar Association president, and was the first woman to chair Pennsylvania's Judicial Ethics Advisory Board.

Fleming said she never expected to become president judge and joked that she lasted long enough to get promoted. In Cambria County, the president judge position is based on seniority.

"I feel so blessed," Fleming said. "It is an amazing blessing and responsibility."

'Learning curve'

As president judges, Bittner and Fleming don't just preside over court cases. They also serve as the top administrators for the court system, which consumes nearly half of their counties' budgets.

That includes tens of million of dollars in expenses in areas such as probation, Children & Youth Services, custody, district courts and day reporting centers.

"Most people don't think about it, but there is a lot more to the court than what happens in the courthouse and the courtrooms," Bittner said. "There are many offices that support the court in many different ways."

Fleming acknowledged that there's a "huge learning curve" in stepping into the president judge's position, noting that her predecessor's experience and knowledge in leading the courthouse will help her fulfill her responsibilities.

"Once you become president judge, you realize how many additional duties it involves," Bittner said.

That includes monitoring expenses, which can add up, given that counties have a constitutional duty to ensure that indigent people charged with crimes are represented in court.

"Many costs are necessary, but you have to be aware of how it's going to impact the county financially," Bittner said.

Fleming said she's looking forward to working with the Cambria County commissioners and the controller in finding ways to cut costs and eliminate waste, while making sure resources are used efficiently within the confines of the budget.

She said that she doesn't think there's anything inherently deficient with the county at the moment, but added that transitions are a good time to review operations.

She is planning regular meetings with different groups of employees that work in the courthouse, such as the court reporters, to discuss what's working and what needs improvement.

Despite new challenges in Cambria County, Fleming said, she wants to bring the same "fundamental fairness" that judges exhibit in the courtroom into the administration of the courthouse. That includes dealing with pay equity, workload and other considerations, she said.

Bittner started his new role in November. He credited now-former President Judge Geary for helping him navigate his new responsibilities through the transition.

Geary is always just a phone call away, Bittner said.

"We talked just (the other day) about a general procedure question," he said.

Bench vacancies

Bittner said he has reached out to state Rep. Carl Metzgar, R-Somerset; state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Fayette; and Gov. Josh Shapiro to ensure that all three branches of state government understand Somerset County's need to have its third judgeship filled in 2024.

Fleming said she's also reached out to state Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Richland Township, about an appointment to fill Cambria County's vacant judge position. However, she noted that reaching a full complement of judges, although nice, would also mean losing a senior judge.

Common Pleas judges serve counties, but they are state- level positions whose salaries are set and paid for by the commonwealth. By statute, Shapiro has the authority to appoint replacements between judicial elections, but those moves must also be confirmed by the state Senate.

In the meantime, both Cambria and Somerset counties have been able to turn to senior judges to help handle some of the cases on their dockets — but Bittner noted that senior judges are capped at working eight days a month.

That isn't enough for the county to make inroads on the "backlog" of cases Somerset County experienced over the past three years, he said.

'This is a tough time to be down a judge," Bittner said, citing COVID-19 and a slowdown of prosecutions due to the suspension of now-former Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas.

As designed, court schedule changes in 2023 were created to enable two Somerset County judges to handle criminal cases, while the third dealt with civil matters. Now, all of the work is being split between Bittner and Somerset County Judge Daniel Rullo, with support from Cambria County Senior Judge Patrick T. Kiniry and a Washington County judge.

Bittner said he's hoping a judicial appointment will enable him to shift his focus to finding other ways to improve the county court system.

For one, the county's drug treatment court has essentially been mothballed since 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bittner supports relaunching the specialty court. It was established to allow certain qualified nonviolent offenders to enter treatment programs with ongoing supervision and to stay clean for an extended period of time, instead of going to jail.

The treatment court component of the program started after those seeking to enter it successfully completed time at a drug rehabilitation center, Somerset County court officials said at the time.

In the years since, Somerset County also obtained funding to support county residents who are imprisoned, aiming to help prevent them from re- offending once they return home. The re-entry program was designed to provide "the basics" that people need to move on with their lives — ensuring they are released to stable residential addresses and that they have employment, Bittner said.

"If you're getting out of jail and going to be homeless, that's not good for anyone," he said, noting that desperate people are more likely to make reckless decisions.

In the end, by helping people break their cycles of criminal behavior, all of Somerset County benefits, the judge said.

"It costs almost $110 a day to house someone in Somerset County Jail," he said, noting that taxpayers foot the bill. "If we can help people stay out of incarceration, there's going to be a cost savings."

He said efforts are in the early, exploratory stages to consider if there's a role that the court system could play in tackling mental health-driven issues that are stressing the system.