HARRISBURG, Pa. AP – A Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Monday that the state government can refuse to provide defense lawyers and decline to pay the cost of financial judgments against prison guards who engage in criminal or malicious conduct.
The 4-3 ruling overturned an arbitration panel’s January 2006 award to the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association and restored the discretion of the state Corrections and Public Welfare departments over when to represent workers accused of wrongdoing.
