Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin is dropping her legal battle to unmask an Internet gossip who posted derogatory comments about her, accusing her of lobbying on behalf of another judicial candidate.

Melvin's attorneys have asked state Superior Court to terminate the defamation lawsuit she filed to unmask "Grant Street 99," the anonymous Web writer who posted a comment online about her in 1999.

The filing gave no reason for Melvin's request and her attorney, Jack Orie, could not be reached yesterday.

Grant Street 99's posting claimed that Melvin had lobbied then-Gov. Tom Ridge's administration to appoint a local attorney to a vacant judgeship in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. The writer called Melvin's purported involvement "misconduct."

Melvin denied the allegation and sought records from America Online, the Internet service provider that hosted Grant Street 99 at the time the comments about Melvin were made.

Her attorneys then filed a lawsuit that wound from Allegheny County through the state Superior Court and Supreme Court. In November, the Supreme Court sent it back to Superior Court to decide if Grant Street 99's First Amendment rights would be violated if he was forced to reveal his identity.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union took up the cause of Grant Street 99 because the case is the first of its kind nationwide to test the Internet as a First Amendment forum involving a public official.

Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU's Pittsburgh chapter, said the agency is waiting for the court to rule.