State Superior Court upholds conviction, sentence of former Justice Melvin

Forcing former state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin to write letters of apology to her staff and every judge in Pennsylvania could rehabilitate her by requiring that she acknowledge her wrongdoing, the state Superior Court said on Thursday.

But forcing her to write those apologies on a photograph of herself in handcuffs was an “unorthodox gimmick” designed to shame and humiliate the former jurist — and was illegal — Superior Court Judge Christine L. Donohue said in a 114-page ruling that upholds Melvin's conviction for using her taxpayer-funded Superior Court staff to campaign for the Supreme Court in 2003 and 2009.

“The trial court's use of the handcuffs as a prop is emblematic of the intent to humiliate Orie Melvin in the eyes of her former judicial colleagues,” Donohue wrote in the unanimous ruling.

Melvin, 58, of Marshall did not respond to requests for comment.

Patrick Casey, one of her lawyers, said she was “extraordinarily disappointed” and is evaluating an appeal.

A spokesman for the District Attorney's Office declined comment.

The court's bulk denial of Melvin's appeals reaffirmed her conviction on charges of theft of services, conspiracy and misapplication of entrusted property. Investigators said she improperly used her Superior Court staff — along with the taxpayer-funded staff of her sister, former state Sen. Jane Orie, during her 2003 and 2009 election campaigns for a seat on the Supreme Court.

Melvin won a 10-year term on the state's highest court in the 2009 election, but she was suspended by the court when the District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges against her in May 2012. A jury convicted her the following year.

In addition to writing the apologies, Common Pleas Judge Lester G. Nauhaus ordered Melvin to serve three years on house arrest, work in a soup kitchen three days a week, pay a $55,000 fine and serve two years on probation. Nauhaus could not be reached.

David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor, said many questioned the legality of the sentence as soon as it was announced.

“Many people asked, ‘Why do the apologies on the photos instead of a more straightforward sentence such as the one her sister, the state senator, got?' ” Harris said.

He said he would not be surprised if Melvin appeals the decision to the state Supreme Court, though it would be “highly unusual” since the justices are her former colleagues, and they have discretion over the cases they hear.

“It would be a one-of-a-kind situation from that point of view,” he said.

Donohue's opinion addresses each of the 15 issues Melvin brought up in her appeals, including that the criminal charges against her were unconstitutional, that her due process rights were violated, that a Common Pleas judge erred in declining to appoint an out-of-county judge and that there was not enough evidence to convict her.

Donohue agreed that Nauhaus should have suppressed 10 emails seized from Melvin's accounts but said the mistake was a “harmless error” that would not have affected the jury's verdict.

The Superior Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of Melvin's sister and former court aide, Janine Orie, 60, of McCandless. A jury convicted her of two counts of theft, conspiracy and tampering with evidence for helping her sister.

Former Sen. Jane Orie, 52, of McCandless was released from the state prison in Cambridge Springs, Crawford County, in February after serving 75 percent of her 1 ¹⁄₂ to 10-year sentence. A jury convicted Orie of 14 charges stemming from allegations she used her taxpayer-funded staffers to help churn out political campaign victories and knowingly introduced forged documents in her first trial. Those forgeries prompted a mistrial and led to the second trial with additional charges.

Adam Brandolph is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-391-0927.