Prosecutor Seeks Out-Of-County Jury In State Senator Jane Orie's Ethics Trial

District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. will be requesting that the jury for the Feb 7th 2011 ethics trial of state Senator Jane Orie be selected from another county. Assitant District Attorney Lawrence Claus stated that the request to select an out-of-town jury is based largley on the amount of pre-trial publicity speerheaded by Orie herself. Senator Orie has claimed that the ethics charges filed against her by the District Attorney are politically movitivated.

Orie has been charged with violating the state's conflict-of-interest statute by using state resources in her district offices; ie staff, technology, and office supplies, to assist her sister's, State Supreme Court Justice Eilene Melvin, with her campaigns in 2005 and in 2009.

According to a grand jury report, at least 15 of Orie's staffers testified that they or other staffers did campaign work or fundraising for the senator from 2001 through 2009, and on behalf of Melvin during her unsuccessful 2003 Supreme Court campaign and again in 2009 when she was elected.

Orie's youngest sister, Janine, also is charged in the case and has been suspended from her job as Melvin's Supreme Court aide. (Click Here To Read More)

There is no doubt in my mind that if you just look at the facts in this case that a jury will convict Senator Orie. The charges against her are sound and has already led to a Grandjury invsestigation of her sister, Supreme Court Justice Melvin. Orie's claims that the charges are political motivated are ridiculous considering that an intern in her own office first reported the misconduct. If sisters have no secrets you can bet that Justice Melvin knew of the campaign activityy being cunducted in Senator Orie's district offices as well.

The bottom line here is that Senator Orie broke the law and should be punished accordingly. The Orie family would be wise to plea bargain a deal and move on from this. Everytime this is in the news and as trial moves forward the possible outcome becomes even more damaging. Orie's lawyers are trying to get the charges dropped by requested that the judge rule that the state's conflict-of-interest statute is unconstitutional on the grounds that it is unenforcable. Well I think the DA in this case done a good job proving that that the law as written is enforceable by chargin Orie! Considering the power players involved in this case, the Allegheny DA may want to move the trial to another state. How can there seriously be a fair trial here when the judge's boss in this case is the deffendant's sister. Is this nepotism run amuck or what? Crazy!!!