In Centre County, a spate of lawsuits involving jurists, attorneys and county officials has created a contentious atmosphere, after several controversial open records requests opened a can of worms.

On one side, several defense attorneys are pointing to cellphone records that they claim show a very close relationship between judges and the Centre County District Attorney's Office.

On the other side, a common pleas judge, a magisterial district judge and District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller are suing the county for releasing their cellphone records, as well as the defense attorneys who requested the documents. Parks Miller, who has also been accused of forging a judge's signature and had property seized during a police search of her office in connection with the allegation, has maintained she is the subject of a conspiracy. The state Attorney General's Office is now reviewing the forgery case with a grand jury, according to Parks Miller's attorney.