Orie agrees to Fed court suspension
PITTSBURGH – A former state Supreme Court justice has agreed to have her ability to practice law in federal court suspended while she appeals her conviction and sentence on public corruption charges.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said a federal judge gave Joan Orie Melvin 30 days at the end of last month to provide any reason why her membership in the federal bar shouldn’t be suspended following the state Supreme Court’s suspension of her law license in June.
Her attorney, William Arbuckle, filed a response saying that Melvin agrees to a temporary suspension.
Melvin was sentenced to three years of house arrest followed by two years of probation after being convicted of misusing state-paid staff members to campaign for a seat on the high court in 2003 and 2009.