The County Board of Commissioners voted to hire special counsel Shovan Vance at $4.80 per hour to represent District Attorney Jason Walsh in a King’s Bench case filed July 30, 2025, with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

The request was presented by the chief clerk, who told the board the agenda was amended to add the name of the special counsel and the hourly amount. The motion was moved and seconded and passed on a roll call in which Commissioner Maggy, Commissioner Janice and Commissioner Sherman each voted yes.

The matter drew public comment before the vote. Cliff Cochran, a Washington resident, said, “I just feel that... it's wrong to use taxpayers' money to pay for an issue that the DA created,” and asked whether the coroner would be offered counsel as well. Ellen Field, a resident who spoke after the vote, asked the same question and said, “they should have their own counsel.” Neither the meeting record nor the motion specifies which county account will cover the fee.

The chief clerk presented the motion as follows: “the chief clerk respectfully request the commissioners approve the hiring of special counsel, Shovan Vance, at $4.80 per hour to represent district attorney Jason Walsh in the King's Bench case which was filed on Wednesday, 07/30/2025 with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. So moved.” The transcript indicates the name and the hourly amount were added to the originally posted agenda before the vote.

Discussion in the meeting consisted of the two public comments opposing the use of taxpayer funds for the DA's legal representation and questioning whether other involved officials would receive similar representation. There is no record in the transcript of the board discussing alternative funding sources, legal authority for the hire, or whether the county would offer representation to the coroner. The motion carried and the board adjourned.

The record does not specify the funding source for the payment to special counsel, whether the county obtained other bids for representation, or whether the county attorney reviewed the legal basis for representing an elected official in this case.