Should Justice Joan Orie Melvin Step Down?

Now that two of the Orie sisters - Senator Jane and Janine - are under indictment for using the senator's state office to elect a third sister to the state's highest Court, should Justice Joan Orie Melvin step down?

Pa Clean Sweep activist Gene Stilp, claiming she'd have to be "deaf, dumb and blind not to know what was going on in her campaign" last year, has filed a complaint with the Judicial Conduct Board. He'd like her to resign.

Back in October, I posted The Orie Story. After yesterday's indictment, I decided it republish it below.

Joan Orie Melvin, a Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge, would very much like to be one of the seven Supremes sitting on our state's highest court. So for the second time in six years, she's running for an open seat, billing herself as a "strict constructionist." Together with sister Jane, a powerful and partisan state senator, the Ories are creating a family dynasty that blurs the separation of power that should exist between the legislative and judicial branch.

Sister Jane just happens to be a member of the judiciary committee. When another powerful state senator, Joe "special election" Scarnetti guaranteed he would personally raise $1.7 million for Melvin, she became in instant hit with the millionaires' club sometimes called the Republican State Committee. As Northampton County Bulldog Ron Angle, himself a state committeeman, puts it, "If anything rings a bell with those Republicans, it's money." She was hand-picked to run by the blue bloods. They turned their noses up at the alternative, Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen. Allen could give them a black candidate, but the state committee prefers green.

Now, sisters Joan and Jane are steamrolling their way to election this November, even getting The Teamsters to make people understand the Orie Story. Only one person stands in their way - the son of a carpet roller. He's the Lehigh Valley's very own Jack Panella, himself a Superior Court Judge. Now I could fill this blog with all kinds of nice stories about Panella, but that's not the reason for this post. I want to tell you the Orie Story. I've written about her before, when she had no opponent, recommending against her retention on the Superior Court. I don't believe she longs on the bench at all, to say nothing of the Supreme Court.

Politically Ambitious

A Pittsburgh native, Melvin first managed to get herself appointed as a judge in 1990, filling a vacancy. At that time, she had only been practicing law nine years. The following year, as an incumbent, she was elected to a full term as a common pleas judge. But she never served that term. A mere seven years later, she was on the campaign warpath again, this time winning her current seat on the superior court.

During the time she spent traipsing across the state, picking up votes, she pretty much ignored her responsibilities as a common pleas judge. An investigative report by a team of eleven reporters at the Post-Gazette, cast a very public spotlight on a very unresponsive Melvin, a person who obviously considers her personal ambition more important than her work as a judge.
Melvin thumbed her nose at a six-week trial term because a pesky little jury trial might interfere with her quest to become an appellate judge. Her courtroom was "virtually shut down . . . for several weeks" while she "spent numerous weekdays out of town campaigning."

After stewing for a few years on this intermediate court, she decided to take a stab for a seat with the supremes in 2003. She and Democrat Max Baer engaged in a money war, spending an obscene $3.34 million over one seat on the state high court. This exceeds the total amount spent in all judicial races during the previous two years. Forty-three per cent of this money came from lawyers, a drastic increase from the ten percent total in the 2001 race.

Although the Code of Judicial Conduct clearly permits judicial candidates to speak out on issues, Melvin still refused to do so. Max Baer, who eventually beat her, said this during a televised debate. "I think you have a right to know what I feel, what I believe in, who I am." And he chastised Melvin for hiding her personal views during a televised debate with him, but expressing her views on tort reform and abortion in comments to Melvin-friendly audiences.

As I've mentioned, Melvin and her state senate sister, Jane Orie, are trying to create some sort of family dynasty. According to The Insider, these two sisters have a "well-known long-standing political feud" with fellow Republican Melissa Hart. "If Hart came out for light, the Ories would back dark."

Judges like Melvin prove Norco DA John Morganelli's point - "judges are probably the most political animals in the political and legal jungle."

Thin-Skinned

In addition to being a political animal, Melvin is fairly thin-skinned. She proved that through five years of quixotic litigation in two separate states over anonymous comments posted on a Pittsburgh-based political gossip site. An anonymous Allegheny County employee called "Grant Street 99" had criticized her "misconduct" in asking Governor Ridge to appoint someone she knew to a judgeship. I'm not sure how that even constitutes defamation, but I guess it must be per se defamation to criticize a superior court judge.

First, she sued in Virginia, trying to learn the identity of the anonymous cretin who had sullied her sparkling reputation. She got nowhere.

She had a little more success on her home field when she filed a second lawsuit in Allegheny County. But America Online branded Melvin's attempt at intimidation "an illegitimate use of the courts to silence and retaliate against speakers." And Witold Walczak, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh ACLU, noted the important role of anonymous speech in a democracy. "Not only did The Federalist Papers and Thomas Paine's Common Sense, both printed pseudonymously, change the course of American history, but evidence today suggests that anonymous Internet speech played a role in the collapse of the Soviet Union."

The state supreme court eventually agreed, and ruled Melvin had to prove financial loss before demanding the identity of her critic. "[G]enerally, the constitutional right to anonymous free speech is deeply rooted in public policy that goes beyond this particular litigation, and ... it falls within the class of rights that are too important to be denied review."

Thankfully, Melvin abandoned her legal bullying. Never admitting she had been wrong, her attorney claimed it would have taken too many years.

Incidentally, the anonymous critic lost his county job and an unlawful termination lawsuit.

Melvin Practices Government by Litigation

Now with her defamation suit out of the way, Melvin took politics by litigation to a new level by suing to demand that the state pay her less money. She lost that suit, too. Here's what one of those dastardly anonymous cyber-critics said. "[F]or a sitting judge to seek a court order barring the payment to her of a pay raise--a raise the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had already ruled could not constitutionally be repealed--is an abuse of the very judicial system she purportedly represents. I will certainly vote 'no' on her retention."

Gee, I hope she doesn't sue me.

Her Mean-Spirited Record From the Bench

Two years ago, Melvin had 139 written opinions online, 31 of which are concurring or dissenting opinions. These opinions, quite frankly, reveal a mean-spirited person who should not be sitting in judgment of anyone. In her little world, even juvenile adjudications would count as criminal convictions under the "three strikes" act. The fourth amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure would be meaningless. An insurance company contractually required to pay for a building in disrepair would not be required to do so unless that building collapsed. A father who disciplines his daughter would be subjected to a PFA order. On appeal, she would make her own credibility determinations on witnesses she never saw or heard, forbidden territory for an appellate judge.

Conclusion

Melvin might be a gifted politician, but she's not a gifted judge. Her attempt at legal intimidation could be expected from a major corporation, but a slapsuit from a sitting judge is bizarre. And her second suit over the payraise is pure grandstanding. Her contrarian opinions reveal an utter lack of compassion. I'll have more about her campaign, hopefully later this week, assuming she does not have me arrested.