She later became an attorney, and was appointed the first executive director of the newly established Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.
[5] Mutchler attended John Marshall School of Law in Chicago after retiring from the Associated Press, earning a J.D.
[11][12] During her term as director, the Office of Open Records expanded and doubled its rate of disclosures between 2009 and 2013, and was widely praised as improving public access and transparency in Pennsylvania.
[17][18] In 2021, Mutchler represented Pennsylvania State Senator Katie Muth in a lawsuit against Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, which is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegations of corruption in relation to land purchases and statements of profit.
[23] In 2014, Mutchler published a memoir, Under This Beautiful Dome: A Senator, A Journalist, and the Politics of Gay Love in America (Seal Press) which detailed her long-term, secret relationship with Illinois Senator Penny Severns, who died of cancer in 1998.