PENNSYLVANIA, USA — It's been three weeks since two central Pennsylvania men were arrested and taken to prison.
Ethan Wentworth of Airville, York County and Rusty Herr of Christiana, Lancaster County have sat in their respective county prisons since April 10 and 11.
Herr and Wentworth run NoBull Solutions, LLC., a breeding company that helps dairy farms with the reproductive management of cattle.
Brook Duer, a staff attorney with the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, has been following the case closely. He says a lot of people in the agricultural industry are familiar with Wentworth and Herr, due to previous complaints against them, claiming they were practicing veterinary care without a license.
“A lot of us [in the agriculture industry] had thought this had more or less gone away so it’s kind of surprising all of a sudden it’s back on again?” Duer explained, of seeing their names in the news again.
NoBull Solutions has also been the subject of an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of State, into prior complaints alleging the men were practicing unlicensed veterinary care by ultrasounding other farmers’ cows.
New court documents unsealed this week by the Commonwealth Court show that’s not the exact reason Herr and Wentworth ended up behind bars.
The case was sealed because it involved an active investigation by a state agency. The state had asked to have the case sealed back in 2021 because, in the event Herr and Wentworth were found to not be involved, it would have been a violation of their privacy rights if any information was made public. The judge also ruled making the case public may have jeopardized the progress or outcome of the investigation.
Both men are being held for contempt of court, a civil charge the Commonwealth Court tells FOX43 has no option for bail.
Robert Barnes, the attorney representing both men, has claimed they are being held illegally.
Duer says the court documents show otherwise.
“Certainly the processes most attorneys are familiar with in regards to civil contempt are all there and were followed," he said.
The charges stem from a February 2021 subpoena issued to NoBull Solutions by the State Board of Veterinary Medicine, a licensure board run through the Department of State.
It ordered the business to turn over records related to the state’s investigation within 30 days.
Court documents allege NoBull Solutions failed to do so. The men also never challenged the order, asked for an extension to comply or contacted the court in any way.
“There’s no evidence these gentlemen ever came forward, didn’t hire an attorney to represent themselves at least since 2021, didn’t appear in various court proceedings, didn’t file any paperwork in the various legal proceedings that occurred," said Duer.
In the fall of 2021, the state was granted permission through the Commonwealth Court to enforce the subpoena, giving NoBull Solutions another 30 days to comply.
Court records state the men continued to ignore the subpoena. A May 16, 2023 order shows NoBull Solutions was ultimately found in contempt of court. It was also warned further refusal could result in their arrests and immediate incarceration.
“They had not only a few opportunities to prevent this kind of an outcome, but those opportunities were multiple and spread over many years," said Duer.
On October 6, 2023, a judge signed off on arrest warrants for both Rusty and Ethan, as well as commitment orders which were sent to the wardens of Lancaster and York County Prisons. The warrants were executed earlier this month.
“There was plenty of due process here," explained Duer. "It’s an unfortunate result, it’s probably best summarized by this is what happens when you disagree with something at some point in a state process, legal proceeding like this, but you don’t just ignore it. You do that at your own peril, and now we see what the peril can be.”
In a statement to FOX43 on Thursday, Barnes said this regarding the case:
"This is an unlawful civil contempt order. There are certain procedures that must be followed in a civil contempt action and to our knowledge those were not followed here. Even if they had been followed, the maximum allowable punishment is 15 days in jail which must be conditional, with keys to your own jail cell – meaning there is a condition you can meet to immediately end your incarceration. None of that is true in this case.
The state claims this is a punishment for not complying with a subpoena to turn over documents, but an agency can’t just order anyone to turn over any document they please. For a subpoena to be valid, the jurisdictional validity of the subpoena must be established, and it has not been in this case. Both men had sought the advice of an attorney regarding the case and had been told that the Veterinary Medical Board had no jurisdiction over them, that the subpoena was therefore invalid, and that there was nothing Ethan and Rusty needed to do.
There is no evidence that Ethan or Rusty ever saw the order the state claims to have mailed to them last August which threatened them with arrest if they did not comply. Ethan and Rusty were unaware that this was a possibility. It was a complete shock to them and to their families when they were arrested.
Our clients were denied the ability to see the case against them or NoBull Solutions because the State had the docket sealed and hidden – a highly unusual move. If Ethan or Rusty searched for the case against them, they would have found nothing. Why would the state hide the case in this way if they really wanted our clients to engage and resolve the case? It gives the appearance that the intent was to secretly establish an excuse to arrest them and shut down NoBull Solutions without due process."
Barnes also tells FOX43:
"Today, we filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court to reverse this patently unlawful & unconstitutional order of imprisonment by the Commonwealth Court on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of State. Shockingly, the state claims the power to imprison someone without any crime, any trial or even being named as a party to a case. That is against the law in Pennsylvania and the United States Constitution. If necessary, we will sue the state in federal court for these extraordinary violations of civil rights."
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