Pennsylvania Supreme Court may be affected by Orie scandal

PITTSBURGH - For close to two years, Western Pennsylvania has been gripped by the scandalous political saga of the Orie sisters: Jane, the state senator; Joan, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice; and Janine, the fiercely loyal sibling.

As the scandal has unfolded - over Bonusgate-like allegations that Jane and Janine made state employees do election chores for Joan on state time - a cynical Pittsburgh public often has seemed as bemused as outraged. The Ories, a well-known family in the North Hills, have angrily called it a "vendetta" and a "mob hit" against them by an ambitious district attorney.

Trish Cloonan, owner of Park Cafe in the North Hills suburb of McCandless, where Jane and Janine Orie live in a large split-level house, said her daughter dressed up as the senator for Halloween in 2010: "Blond hair and a lot of lipstick."

Now, the tone is darkening as this mostly local story threatens to burst into the state Supreme Court with potential impact on the court's credibility and makeup.

Pittsburgh newspapers have reported that Joan Orie Melvin, elected to the Supreme Court as a Republican in November 2009, received a letter identifying her as the target of an Allegheny County grand jury looking into Orie family activities. Stephen Zappala Jr., the district attorney, declined comment.

Legal scholars say a target letter is usually a prelude to indictment. Some good-government and court-watchdog groups already are asking for Orie Melvin to resign or step aside.

Orie Melvin has indicated no plan to quit, but has recused herself from criminal cases out of Allegheny County. She sat on the bench Monday when the court heard oral arguments in a high-profile case dealing with the remapping of state House and Senate districts.

Jim Koval, spokesman for Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, said Castille had no comment on Orie Melvin's status. Castille has said that the usual procedure is for a judge, at any level, to be suspended with pay if charges are filed.

Bruce Ledewitz, a law professor at Duquesne University, said Orie Melvin is in the same position as President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal - unindicted coconspirator.

"The last [grand jury] presentment against her sister alleges criminality by her," Ledewitz said. "I think she has to step down. I think the legitimacy of the court is already suffering."

Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a legal watchdog group, has called for Orie Melvin to temporarily step down or be suspended.