PA gop Supreme Court Justice Charged With Campaign Corruption Found Guilty Of Campaign Corruption 6 Times (#83)

Pa. Supreme Court justice convicted of corruption

PITTSBURGH – A member of Pennsylvania’s highest court was convicted Thursday of corrupting the election process in her campaigns to win a seat on the bench, triggering renewed calls to change the system of electing state judges.

Justice Joan Orie Melvin was just the second known Supreme Court justice to be convicted in nearly three centuries, and her conviction may soon set in motion political campaigns by would-be justices vying to replace her.

Melvin and her sister, Janine Orie, were convicted of corruption for allegedly misusing state-paid staffers to do campaign work.

…A third sister, former state Sen. Jane Orie, 51, was charged as part of the conspiracy but she wasn’t on trial. She resigned from office last year and is serving 2 1/2 to 10 years in prison for illegally using her staff to work on her own campaigns,

…The staunchly Republican, conservative Catholic sisters from Pittsburgh’s North Hills suburbs have argued the charges were overblow