Orie charges may help end some judicial elections

An Allegheny County grand jury’s indictment Friday of state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin represents a new low for Pennsylvania’s highest court, but it could prove to be a valuable driving force for reforming the state’s discredited system of electing its appellate judges. Melvin, 56, says she will fight the criminal charges that she misused her taxpayer-funded staff while serving as a Superior Court judge by having it do political campaign work in her 2009 pursuit of a state Supreme Court seat.