Eleventh hour appeals
Jane Orie
At least one of three attempts to have the upcoming trial of state Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny) postponed – perhaps indefinitely – fell short on Thursday, while two others are pending with the state Supreme Court.
The two “King’s Bench” petitions before the state high court were filed by the state Senate Republican caucus, of which Ms. Orie is a member, and by Ms. Orie’s attorney, William Costopoulos. All the motions are based on the allegation the state’s ethic laws are too vague to carry the charges against Ms. Orie and her sister, Janine.
The Orie sisters are charged by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, Jr. with using taxpayer funded supplies, staff and equipment to campaign for Ms. Orie in 2004, and for her sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin in 2004 and 2009. Justice Orie Melvin lost in 2004 and won her seat on the state Supreme Court in 2009.
A separate grand jury is now investigating Justice Orie Melvin.
Jury selection for the trial is to begin Tuesday.
A “King’s Bench” petition, if accepted by the high court, could put the Orie sisters’ cases directly before the high court for review and put the trial on hold indefinitely.
The seven-member state Supreme Court includes four Republicans and three Democrats.
Justice Orie Melvin, elected as a Republican, would very likely recuse herself from the matter, given it directly concerns her family.
On Thursday, Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Manning denied an attempt to postpone the Ories’ trial while Mr. Costopoulos appealed a January ruling by Judge Manning that had denied a previous attempt to delay the court proceedings.
In January, Judge Manning ruled the state ethics laws are not too vague and wrote in his opinion, “There is a clear line created in the statute and it is the line between using state resources, including employees, for state related purposes and using those resources to provide a financial benefit to the office holder or a member of their immediate family.”
The “Kings Bench” challenges by Sen. Orie’s Senate Republican colleagues and her attorney, both challenge the clarity of the ethics law and “overbroad” and “vague” search warrants that led to the confiscation of computers and other materials from the senator’s office.
