Opinion

Salvati v. Commonwealth, Department of Public Welfare, Berks County Board of Assistance

  • 76 Pa. Commw. 248
  • 463 A.2d 1224
  • 1983 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 1842
Court
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Filed
Aug 9, 1983
Status
Published
Author
Blatt
On the bench
Blatt, MacPhail, Rogers
Cited by
3 cases
Authority
More cited than 9.1%

The opinion

Dissenting Opinion by

Judge Blatt:

I must respectfully dissent.

Hearsay testimony, consisting of allegedly received anonymous letters and phone calls, is the only evidence to support the majority’s position that the petitioner’s arrest was “job-related and touch[ed] upon [her] competency and ability.” Pennsylvania Department of Justice v. Grant, 22 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 582, 585-86 , 350 A.2d 878, 880 (1976). And, of course, an adjudication cannot be founded wholly on hearsay. Bleilevens v. Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission, 11 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 1 , 312 A.2d 109 (1973).

Furthermore, I believe that the instant case is factually distinguishable from the cases relied on by the majority. Brown v. Department of Transportation, 34 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 461 , 383 A.2d 978 (1978) involved job-related charges bearing directly *257 on an employee’s status as a security guard, and Grant involved an employee holding a position as a prison guard in a state correctional institution, a position which we held was “highly sensitive” and which required those who held it to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. In contrast, the record in the instant case is devoid of competent evidence establishing that the petitioner’s arrest had any connection to or bearing on her job, or that her position was at all “sensitive”:

Due to the absence of competent evidence in the record, I do not believe that the Commission’s findings are supported by substantial evidence, and I would therefore reverse the order of the Commission.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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