Ephrata, PA (July 1, 2025) — Mike Miller, a Lancaster County resident, has petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review a series of judicial rulings that, he argues, threaten to dismantle the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) by replacing it with improvised court procedures that deny due process and shield public agencies from accountability.
The petition challenges a May 2023 order by a Lancaster County judge who dismissed a verified petition to enforce a Office of Open Records (OOR) determination to release records. The trial judge unilaterally reclassified the statutory claim as a “mandamus” action and then dismissed it on legal grounds without holding a hearing, developing a record, or allowing amendment. A Commonwealth Court panel affirmed the dismissal in April 2025 without addressing the petitioner’s preserved objections or applying the procedural safeguards required under Rule 1028 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.
The petition asks the Supreme Court to decide whether Pennsylvania judges may extinguish statutory enforcement rights apart from law. It highlights a troubling shift away from enforcement of the RTKL—under which government records must be released unless exempt—toward a lawless scheme that favors agency secrecy and leaves requesters without a clear remedy.
“This case is not about a disputed record,” the petition states. “It’s about whether courts remain bound by law when the public seeks to enforce it.”
The petition raises four legal questions and six reasons for review, including judicial disregard of controlling precedent, erosion of procedural rights, and the courts’ adoption of a flawed enforcement model that imposes legal burdens never authorized by statute.
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