Posted on 12/29/2020 3:25:48 PM PST by lightman
this is how taste of sicily beat the agriculture department bogus citation. Any title 35 violation has to come from the Disaster Plan office. These citations are issued under color of law and the people that issue them are outside the law and can be prosecuted just like any cop who arrests you on bogus charges.
On Oct. 16, Silvana Drill, owner of Palmyra restaurant Taste of Sicily, appeared before Magisterial District Judge Carl Garver and was found not guilty of operating her restaurant in violation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 pandemic mitigation orders.
Taste of Sicily had become a prominent symbol of the opposition by business owners and some local elected officials to the governor’s anti-coronavirus measures, which required closing or restricting the operation of many businesses, and mandated face masks in certain situations.
Read More: Taste of Sicily says it will continue to operate despite receiving letters from state threatening fines and penalties
Read More: Taste of Sicily license suspended, GOP elected officials will speak there Friday
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf had announced on several occasions, including at a public protest rally at the restaurant, that her office would not prosecute violations of the governor’s COVID mitigation orders.
Drill was charged before Magisterial District Judge Carl Garver with a “Non-Traffic Citation,” which was filed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture. Gov. Wolf did not file the citation, was not named in it, and Drill did not file a lawsuit against the governor.
The citation filed against Drill was not a “lawsuit,” but a “summary offense” under Pennsylvania law. Summary offenses are the lowest level of criminal offenses in Pennsylvania.
“Lawsuits” are generally considered by the legal system to be civil proceedings, where the plaintiff wants money or some other relief, but is not seeking to imprison the defendant or impose fines.
Some summary offenses can result in short jail sentences. Many, including the specific offense Drill was charged with, do not allow for jail. Instead, defendants found guilty simply pay fines and court costs.
Drill was charged with allowing her restaurant to violate “the Targeted Mitigation Order issued by issued by the Secretary of Health on 7/15/2020 under the authority of the Disease and Control Law.”
The citation referred to an Aug. 25 visit to the restaurant by a Department of Agriculture inspector who found “employees not wearing masks. No social distancing markers or barriers at checkout. No signage stating masks required.”
Drill faced fines and costs totaling $112.75 had she been convicted.
Guilt or innocence in summary cases is determined in much the same way as in more serious criminal cases. Anyone charged with a summary offense can plead not guilty, as Drill did, and get a non-jury trial before a Magisterial District Judge.
Just as a murder defendant would be, a summary defendant starts out presumed to be not guilty, and never has to prove her innocence. Instead, the prosecution is required to prove all the facts of the charged offense, beyond a reasonable doubt, before a guilty verdict can be reached.
Calls to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Inspector Douglas Martin, who prepared the citation, filed it at MDJ Garver’s office, and testified at the trial, were not returned. Instead, an Agriculture Department spokeswoman directed all inquiries to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Department of Health attorney Kevin Hoffman represented the Commonwealth at Drill’s trial. The Department of Health would not make Hoffman available for comment.
LebTown was able to speak by telephone with Drill’s lawyer, Eric Winter of Bechtelsville.
Winter said that Inspector Martin, the lone witness at the trial, testified that on his Aug. 25 visit to the restaurant he saw no employees wearing masks, no plexiglass barriers, and no social distancing. “We didn’t dispute any of that testimony,” Winter admitted.
Instead, Winter said he made several legal arguments on behalf of Drill, in essence saying that, even if the facts alleged were true, she still could not be found guilty under the law.
Winter argued to MDJ Garver that a Department of Health Attorney could not prosecute a charge filed by the Department of Agriculture, that violations of COVID-19 mitigation orders could only be enforced in civil actions, and that the violations alleged were not actual food safety violations, so the Agriculture Department had no enforcement power.
Winter also said that he believes that a viral pandemic such as COVID-19 is not a “natural disaster” as contemplated by the state law that Governor Wolf and the Department of Health are basing their orders on.
Winter concluded by saying that he has no idea if MDJ Garver based his not guilty verdict on any of the arguments he made, or on something else.
“He didn’t give a reason for his decision,” Winter said. “He just announced ‘not guilty.’”
Because the charge against Drill was a criminal offense, the Commonwealth cannot appeal the not guilty verdict. However, that charge related only to what happened on Aug. 25. Similar charges against Drill could be filed for violations at Taste of Sicily that happen on other days.
MDJ Garver’s decision is not binding on any other courts or in any other cases.
The Department of Health released the following statement on Oct. 21:
“The verdict has no impact upon the legal validity of the current mitigation orders. It does not impact any other case brought against any other defendant, nor does it deter the administration from taking action against violators who jeopardize public health by violating common sense mitigation measures.”
They must be using the State Store model for food as well as booze.
Here in the PRO (Peoples’ Republic of Ory-gone), our Governatrix, the odious Kate Brown, has graciously decided that some counties, including mine (Lincoln) can go back to “High Risk” from “Extreme Risk” on January 1. This means that restaurants will be able to open again for limited capacity dining.
As someone who prefers to make food at home, I almost never eat out. Until now. I have found myself patronizing these small family owned places as often as I can.
Coincidentally, all of their names were Karen.
It would be nice if you would use the html code to separate the paragraphs and make it easier for people to read.
Thanks.
They aren’t in the state legislature.
One in Somerset...THE SUMMIT DINER, a favorite of ours for breakfast and always busy, said this new closing will possibly put them totally out of business...really sad, it is located right near the turnpike area, and a popular place, especially for bikers and retired folks...
with all the news about Pennsylvania having more votes than there were voters...I hope it explodes on Jan. 6th...Gov. Wolfe is not liked in the State except for Harrisburg and the east coast of the State...
No where did we see support for Biden but there was STRONG support for DJT..and it is just unbelievable they stole the state from him...
DJT WON PA...JUST LIBERALS, MEDIA AND CERTAIN AREAS rigged and lied about the voting , it was very obvious...
never in my life time have I lived thru and election that was so corrupt and evil and so full of hate for a sitting POTUS...THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST ELECTION EVER...
I looked up Ruthie’s Diner in Ligonier, on Rte. 30, where I had a great breakfast when I ate there in 2012. They’re apparently still in business.
I noticed that there are a lot of Italian restaurants on this list. In the near future, if you want to eat an Italian meal, Olive Garden will be your only choice.
It was a quick cut and past from an article that had all of the info. I’m formatting it for future use thx
Thanks for that info.
All restauranteurs should be going about their business. Flood the courts and bureaucracies with paperwork right back at ‘em.
Cases will drag on for months. In the meantime, keep all receipts, put tax money in escrow pending litigation.
That will buy time for workers to keep collecting paychecks.
You know, I personally KNOW people who have had “covid”. Including my boss and another co-worker. I never witnessed them sick. They both called in sick so I know they were sick, yet I have not witnessed a sick person myself in the entire 10 months of this ‘epidemic’. I shop at Walmart - never wear a mask. Many people do, some don’t. After Christmas, everyone squeezing into the markdown aisles. Nobody sick. No ‘social-distancing’. I can hang out at Walmart without a mask in the narrow markdown aisles for as long as I want, yet I can’t go into a restaurant for an hour with tables spaced! The restaurant-nazis closed several restaurants in our county. Our sheriff, God bless him, said he would not enforce closings, so the state came in! Disgusting!
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