Orie defends letter seeking character witnesses
Share with others:
State Sen. Jane C. Orie sent a letter seeking character testimony to a total of 198 households in Allegheny and Butler counties, according to a filing made in her criminal case.
The district attorney's office filed a motion earlier this month claiming the senator's Jan. 15 letter was an attempt to taint the jury pool for her trial, scheduled to start at the end of February. In a motion filed with Judge Jeffrey A. Manning, the commonwealth asked how many households received the letter and also accused the defense of violating a gag order in the case.
In its answer, the defense said the letter was the same one sent before the senator's first trial last February, and "did not constitute a mass mailing or a district-wide mailer."
Further, the defense claims that out of respect for the judicial process, Ms. Orie has not sent any district-wide mailers for the past two years.
"[This] mailing was nothing more than an effort to defend herself against the commonwealth's charges with positive character reputation," wrote defense attorney William Costopoulos.
He called the prosecution's accusation of tainting the jury pool "baseless."
Mr. Costopoulos also filed a separate motion in which he asks the court to sequester the jury once the trial of Ms. Orie begins.
In his motion, he wrote it has been reported Ms. Orie's sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, has received a target letter from the county grand jury, and that the information "was leaked by the commonwealth in violation of this court's 'gag order' and is an egregious violation of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Act."
In the interests of justice, the defense wrote, the jurors should be sequestered.
Ms. Orie is charged, along with another sister, Janine Orie, of using her legislative staff and resources to run election campaigns for Ms. Orie Melvin. Janine Orie, an administrative assistant in her sister's judicial office, was charged separately in December with using the judge's staff to campaign, as well.
The first trial of Jane and Janine Orie ended with a mistrial after the prosecution accused Jane Orie of submitting fraudulent documents. In the summer, the DA's office filed additional charges against Jane Orie of perjury and forgery.
First Published January 31, 2012 12:00 am
