Sep 30, 2023 By Gary Stout 5 min read

There is a story from 1948 when then-President Harry S. Truman visited Pittsburgh during a campaign stop. As he was introduced to local officials in the receiving line, he commented, “What the hell is a prothonotary?”

When Washington County voters, many of whom are unfamiliar with the Pennsylvania court system, go to the polls this November, they will probably ask themselves the same question.

This commentary will explain why the prothonotary’s office has a greater impact on our day-to-day activities than most voters realize. I will also review the qualifications of the two candidates for the office of prothonotary – incumbent Republican Laura Hough and her opponent, Democrat Sandy Sabot.

In the interest of full disclosure, my spouse is a close friend of Sabot and hosted a meet-and-greet event in support of her candidacy.

It would be unfortunate for residents to cast a vote for this important office based solely on party affiliation. Voters seeking good government should seek to match up a candidate’s qualifications with the responsibilities of the position. In many jurisdictions, including the federal courts, the prothonotary’s duties are considered so important that it is no longer an elected office. Instead, each court administration appoints a professional manager with specialized training to oversee increasingly complex court management systems, free from politics.

According to Wikipedia, the original meaning and function of a prothonotary has a long and rich history. The term is Latin for “first notary.” Under early ecclesiastical law, the prothonotary would notify the judge whenever a case was ready for trial. After the English court system was established, the prothonotary acted as the chief administrator of the King’s Bench and Court of Common Pleas.

In the administration of our modern courts, the prothonotary’s function has been modified to handle file storage and retrieval responsibilities. Accordingly, most jurisdictions have dropped the term prothonotary in favor of “civil clerk.” Wikipedia states that only four states, including Pennsylvania, have maintained the ancient title.

In Pennsylvania, the prothonotary’s office collects fees for all of its services according to a schedule adopted by the Legislature. The prothonotary has administrative responsibility for keeping and maintaining all civil court documents. A copy of each document may be officially certified by the prothonotary to demonstrate its authenticity for use outside the court system.

The list of essential prothonotary functions is noteworthy. All civil complaints and related pleadings are time-stamped and stored for future reference. Divorce filings, custody cases, and protection from abuse (PFA) actions are retained in family court matters. Appeals from the magistrate courts are accepted and scheduled for trial. Cases that are appealed to higher state courts are organized and transmitted to the appellate courts. The prothonotary is where an attorney or resident goes to get a subpoena, file name-change petitions, tax assessment appeals, judgments on court verdicts, and more.

The incumbent prothonotary, Laura Hough, was swept into office in 2019, along with other Republican row officers. She was the first registered Republican to hold the office in 40 years. Hough is proud of her office’s efforts to continue filing and retrieval operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is excited about the court’s new file management system.

Throughout her term, Hough has maintained an alliance with the anti-establishment political views of Brenda Davis, the clerk of courts, and James Roman, the register of wills. Early in her tenure, she largely managed to avoid direct confrontation with the Washington County court system and the county commissioners.

Matters dramatically changed in April, however. Both Republican and Democratic officials rebuked Hough for inappropriately using a database, LexisNexis, installed in her office to track down addresses. She was cited for conducting background searches on two dozen individuals involved in county politics, including the commissioners. The county revoked her search privileges after the improper searches were discovered. According to the Observer-Reporter, a letter was sent to Hough reprimanding her for “usage clearly showing access to potentially confidential information of certain individuals.”

While Hough’s conduct did not lead to criminal charges, it was troubling. Misusing a database paid for by Washington County, for political purposes, has no place in the prothonotary’s workplace. Hough has never explained why she conducted the unauthorized searches and has dismissed the admonishment from the commissioners as a “political hit job.”

Sandy Sabot, the Democratic candidate for prothonotary, has a degree in journalism and communications. She worked for 19 years in county government as a caseworker and resource specialist. Sabot has worked for a long list of public service organizations, including the Washington School District, Transitional Paths to Independent Living (TRIPL), the Washington Symphony Orchestra, United Way, Mental Health Association, Washington County Food Bank, League of Women Voters, and Faith in Action. She performed assignments in news reporting for Washington’s radio station WJPA, and hosted talk shows discussing community services and county programs.

Sabot has been active in Democratic politics and was elected to serve as both a state and local committee member. As prothonotary, she pledges to provide “open dialogue regardless of party affiliation.” Her goal is a well-run prothonotary’s office, free from “fights, backstabbing or lawsuits.”

For more information on this and other races, voters should attend the candidates forum scheduled at the LeMoyne Community Center in East Washington at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.