judgesonmerit.org

In an editorial today, the Philadelphia Inquirer urges the legislature to act on pending Merit Selection legislation.  Although the paper has supported Merit Selection for a long time, the impetus for the call today was the pending investigation of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin for improper use of her judicial staff for her judicial election campaigns.  The editorial first echoes PMC’s calls for Justice Orie Melvin to temporarily step down from her duties on the Court.   The editorial then explains:

The allegations alone ought to be enough to shake the public’s faith in the state’s system of electing its most powerful judges.

No matter what the outcome of the inquiry into the Orie sisters, the state judiciary would not have to weather such controversy if its top judges were chosen through a merit-based system of appointment, with voters’ concurrence through nonpartisan retention elections. . . .

With the Melvin controversy bringing renewed attention to Pennsylvania’s discredited system of electing judges, Harrisburg officials should seize the moment and move ahead on judicial reform.

We agree, and we hope the people of Pennsylvania will be given the chance to decide for themselves whether there is a better way to select appellate court judges.

Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald Castille, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer about the recent charges filed against State Senator Jane Orie and her sister Janine Orie, who works in the judicial office of Justice Joan Orie Melvin, expressed concern about how the developing story might impact the Court: “‘It’s not good, I can tell you that.’”

The Chief Justice noted that the allegations are related to political campaigns, including Justice Orie Melvin’s recent successful campaign for the Supreme Court, not the Court itself.  However, he also acknowledged that:

[T]he public may not see the fine line between the court and the allegations – especially because the charges come on the heels of the “kids-for-cash” scandal in Luzerne County, where two former judges are accused of sending juvenile defendants to detention centers in return for $2.6 million in kickbacks.

This “fine line” is something we’ve always found problematic — it’s hard to separate the justices and their work on the Court from the political process that got them to the bench.  That’s one reason that the public perceives that campaign contributions may influence judicial decision-making.  And it’s a big reason to treat judges differently from other elected officials — not only once they are in office, but also while they are trying to reach office.  That is, judges are different and should be selected differently.

The Chief Justice noted that Justice Orie Melvin should recuse herself from any case involving the Allegheny County prosecutor’s office because presiding over cases involving those prosecuting one’s family members could create a perception of impropriety.  Jack Orie lawyer (and brother) to Senator Orie and Janine Orie (and brother of Justice Orie Melvin) stated that Justice Orie Melvin would recuse from such cases.

It remains to be seen how the ongoing investigation and prosecution will impact the Court.  As we reported yesterday, the Pittsburgh Times-Tribune reported that a second grand jury is being impaneled to continue the investigation, and Jack Orie expressed the belief that it would be targeting Justice Orie Melvin.

In Allegheny County this week, a grand jury returned a presentment against Senator Jane Orie and her sister Janine Orie, a member of Justice Joan Orie Melvin’s staff, for violations of laws regarding political activity by state employees on taxpayer-funded time.

At issue is an allegedly almost decade-long use of Senator Orie’s legislative staff for political work related to the Senator’s own political campaigns as well as those of her sister, Justice Orie Melvin.  Particular focus has been paid to the alleged use of the legislative staffers  for Justice Orie Melvin’s 2009 successful campaign for the Supreme Court.

Senator Orie and Janine Orie were arraigned on Wednesday of this week.  Now the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that a second grand jury is being convened to continue the investigation.  Jack Orie, brother and lawyer to Jane and Janine Orie, believes this new grand jury may be targeting sister Justice Orie Melvin.

There are allegations that the entire investigation is politically motivated.  The District Attorney pursuing the investigation, Stephen A. Zappala, Jr., is the son of former Chief Justice Stephen Zappala.  The Ories contend that  Zappala is targeting Senator Orie because of her opposition to legalized gaming, an industry to which Zappala’s father and sister are tied.

The investigation brings a cloud over two branches of government.   And the allegations  about the judicial campaigns highlight the dangers in using an inherently political process — elections — to select officials who are supposed to be different from those who serve in the political branches.  We don’t want our judges or judicial candidates put in the position of having to make tough calls about the ethical rules governing their campaign conduct and that of their employees.