Your Notary Journal May Change History!

Wanda Scheib is now a successful notary in the state of Pennsylvania because she did her job extremely well by maintaining an exceptional notary journal. Scheib was motivated by a deep sense of responsibility to abide by the laws that regulate this notary practice. She meticulously kept a journal of all notarial acts. Eventually, this journal became a principal piece of evidence in a high-profile case involving her boss – a former attorney general of the state.

A Usual Routine

It all started on January 17 2013, just 48 hours after Kathleen Kane was sworn-in as the new attorney general of the state. During a meeting that involved Kane and her deputies, the new attorney general and her high-ranking officials swore to an oath of secrecy, to keep private information, including grand jury testimony, away from the press.

Scheib, who served as an executive assistant, was hurriedly called in to notarize oaths for different grand juries and Kane swore that she would protect information. Scheib executed the oath forms and recorded all the notary transactions in her journal. She was not even aware that those notarizations would eventually become a focal point in an investigation to uncover whether the attorney lied when she said that the information and documents she gave to the press were not protected by a secrecy oath. Investigators eventually used Schieb’s notary journal to prove the documents were protected by an oath of secrecy.

Abiding By the Rule Book

Scheib’s style of administering notarizations can serve as a guide for notaries who want to uphold the ethics and laws of their commission. Her actions may be used as an example for those who want to keep professional standards, protect the public, and keep private information private.

Scheib testified during the investigation that filling her notary journal was an important aspect of her duties as a notary. She made the journal entries at the time the notarizations were done and she kept the journal in a place where no one will be able to see it.

Vital Evidence

Prosecutors acknowledged that the notarized oath documents and the journal kept by Scheib were major pieces of evidence against Kane. Without them, the investigators may never have been able to prove that the former attorney general swore to secrecy – an action which took place a year before the criminal case began.

The case is a good example of the way a dedicated notary can be a committed public servant and help to uphold the truth. If Scheib did not notarize the oath correctly or fill out her journal clearly, the evidence would not have been useful to the prosecutors.

Journals are vital aspects of the notary practice because the issues that may come up after a notarization may not surface for years. Kane was prosecuted over a year after Scheib recorded the notarization in her journal. Although many notaries will not make the headlines, their journals should be properly filled and kept as if a major public criminal case will depend on it.

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