Judge Orie Melvin wins appeal of apology letters
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Superior Court panel has blocked a requirement that a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice convicted of corruption write letters of apology to other judges in the state.
A local news outlet reported Wednesday that the three-judge panel issued the stay on grounds that the apology letters might be used as evidence against former Justice Joan Orie Melvin if her pending appeal results in a new trial.
Melvin was convicted in February on charges that she used her state-paid staff to do campaign work.
Allegheny County Judge Lester Nauhaus sentenced her to house arrest, probation and a requirement that Melvin mail every judge in the state a signed apology written on a photograph of her in handcuffs.