Hold Sheriff Rochelle Bilal in contempt? A state lawmaker asks Philly’s president judge to consider it.
Bilal should be ordered by the court to fix the numerous problems in her office, State Rep. Jared Solomon wrote to President Judge Nina Wright Padilla.
With problems continuing to pile up at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, a state lawmaker from Northeast Philadelphia is asking the city’s head judge to investigate the office and take corrective action — and to consider holding Sheriff Rochelle Bilal in contempt if she doesn’t comply.
In a letter sent Wednesday evening to President Judge Nina Wright Padilla, State Rep. Jared Solomon, a Democrat, said he is “deeply concerned by the substantial, publicly documented deficiencies and unacceptable backlogs” at the Sheriff’s Office that have been reported by The Inquirer and other news media and the City Controller.
The cited problems include misappropriated money; lengthy deed delays; no-bid contracting; a three-year backlog of property auctions; allegations of missing guns and mishandled domestic-abuse cases; questionable raises; millions of dollars in tax revenue uncollected.
“To restore the safe and efficient administration of the courts in Philadelphia and to bolster public confidence in access to justice, I am respectfully requesting, as a friend of the court, that you consider taking any actions you deem appropriate and necessary to bring consistency and stability to the Sheriff’s office,” Solomon wrote.
Solomon suggested that the court hold an evidentiary hearing to document the office’s “current deficiencies” and issue an administrative order to “provide for the safety of court personnel, court users, and the public; the security of financial and cash operations; and the timely administration of records.”
If Bilal, a Democrat who took office in 2020, does not address the deficiencies, Solomon wrote to Wright Padilla, “the president judge might then consider initiating contempt proceedings against the sheriff of Philadelphia.”
A spokesperson for Wright Padilla, a Common Pleas Court judge, declined to comment on Solomon’s letter. Bilal’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
City officials have said their hands are tied
Solomon has been calling for reform in the Sheriff’s Office following an Inquirer report last month about winning bidders at sheriff sales being unable to obtain the deeds to their properties.
Bilal’s staff had maintained for the last month that reports of wait times exceeding seven months were incorrect. Last week, however, they conceded that there is a problem and said they are trying to fix it. Those delays may have also been a violation of Pennsylvania’s Rules of Civil Procedure. The rules require sheriffs to deliver deeds for recording “forthwith” after they are sent to the courts.
City officials have done little to address deficiencies in the Sheriff’s Office, saying their hands are largely tied because the sheriff is an independently elected official.
Solomon’s decision to go to Philadelphia’s president judge appears to be modeled after corrective action taken in Dauphin County’s court system this year amid widespread dysfunction.
The president judge there had ordered the elected clerk of courts to address performance issues or be held in contempt. When the clerk instead resigned, the state Supreme Court this month declared a judicial emergency and ordered the president judge there to appoint a temporary acting clerk.
Solomon said Philadelphia courts might be able to do something similar.
“The president judge is responsible for the fair and efficient administration of the court system and therefore tasked with oversight powers,” Solomon said in an interview Thursday.
On Thursday afternoon, Aizaz Gill, the Republican nominee in the 172nd state House District, also located in Northeast Philadelphia, issued a statement supporting Solomon’s effort.
“Fixing problems like those in the Sheriff’s Office will require leaders from both parties to put aside partisanship and stand together,” Gill said. “On this issue, I stand with Rep. Solomon in his call for action.”
The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office has long been a source of scandal and controversy: Former Sheriff John Green in 2019 was sentenced to five years in prison for taking bribes worth $675,000, and his successor Jewell Williams was hit with half a dozen lawsuits alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and intimidation.
But under Bilal — who threw a going-to-jail party for Green after she won the 2019 primary — several of the office’s core functions have broken down.
Solomon cited those problems in his letter to Padilla, including:
Sales of tax-delinquent properties had been on hold since April 2021 after Bilal’s staff signed a no-bid, six-year deal with online auction firm Bid4Assets without approval from city lawyers. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker estimated that the extended pause on sales had left $35 million in taxes uncollected and has hampered blight remediation. The sales resumed last month.
The Sheriff’s Office continues to withhold millions of dollars in service fee revenue that is supposed to be turned over to city coffers. Instead, Bilal’s staff spends the money directly, on everything from Tasers to promotional items, such as Rochelle Bilal trading cards and a $9,250 foam mascot named “Deputy Sheriff Justice.” A 2022 City Controller audit said the Sheriff’s Office is “operating outside of the checks and balances established in the Home Rule Charter meant to protect taxpayer funds from mismanagement or misuse.”
Solomon noted that there have also been questions about whether Bilal’s staff is properly confiscating weapons in domestic-abuse cases, and accounting for other guns in their possession.
And the Sheriff’s Office could see more work coming its way soon: The city’s Landlord-Tenant Office, run by a private attorney, announced this week that it is on the brink of losing its insurance and could shut down by the end of next month.
If that happens, the Sheriff’s Office would likely be responsible for handling evictions. Landlords say they are worried about whether the sheriff can handle the workload, given the existing problems.
In a statement Thursday morning, Bilal addressed that issue: “We understand the significance of this responsibility and are determined to uphold the highest standards of justice and accountability.”
News researcher Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.