PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE: Five months after being sentenced for misusing her court staff, former state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin has still not written any letters of apology to the members of Pennsylvania’s judiciary — a required part of the punishment meted out to her.
She claims that being forced to write the letters violates her privilege against self-incrimination, and months ago, she asked the man who sentenced her, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Lester G. Nauhaus, to either stay that portion of her sentence pending appeal or rescind it.
He did neither, and last week, upon learning that Judge Nauhaus may conduct a probation violation hearing on the issue, Orie Melvin asked for an emergency stay from the Pennsylvania Superior Court. It was granted… (more)
