Orie Sisters Accused of threatening DA over Grand Jury Probe

[Divernan]

www.post-gazette.com/pg/10201/1073906-454.stm

(Click on the link just to see the picture of these 4 GOP babes with their bumpit/Sarah Palin on a bad-hair day "dos", and their harsh makeup, which reminds one of Batman's Joker character.)

"An affidavit unsealed in the corruption case against state Sen. Jane Clare Orie says she and her sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, dispatched an intermediary to convey threats in an attempt to halt a grand jury investigation into the senator.

The affidavit, which had previously been sealed by court order, became public when it was introduced into evidence at a preliminary hearing Monday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
PDF: Affidavit of Probable Cause. While this document is 14 pages long, the information regarding Mr. Kramm begins at the bottom of page 10.

Robert Kramm, described as a political consultant for the Laborers' District Council of Western Pennsylvania, met Nov. 19 with officials at the district attorney's office. According to the affidavit filed by district attorney Detective Lyle Graber. Mr. Kramm said the Orie sisters had asked him to convey a series of messages that included a threat to launch a "Wecht style" attack if District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. allowed the investigation to continue.

The reference was to the aggressive public response by former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht to a federal indictment charging him with misusing office resources for personal gain. Half the charges were dropped before trial and a jury deadlocked on the remaining counts before then U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan decided against seeking a retrial.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10201/1073906-454.stm#ixzz0uDdnSgBv

I do believe Judge Orie is not long for the state Supreme Court!

[Altoid_Cyclist]

1. Family values gone astray, assuming that they ever had any values which is doubtful.

That family does seem to be prepared for Halloween 12 months out of the year.

It's become rather hard to keep up to date with all of the political scandals in this state.

We might not be the worst state when it comes to corrupt politicians, but we must at least be in the top five.

If Corbett and Toomey both win this fall, :scared:

[Bunny]

2. I think all the Orie girls are in some pretty deep shit.

Couldn't happen to a nicer family. I didn't read the whole affadavit, is there any explanation as to why they specifically chose Kramm as their messenger boy?

[femmocrat]

3. What's with the white raincoats? It's been like 85 degrees here this week.

All three of them were wearing them.

[mrmpa]

5. They all work pink trench coats the second day.

[JPZenger]

4. Orie-Melvin holds the controlling vote for gerrymandering

When the legislature sets up revised boundaries of PA. legislature districts and US House of Representative districts after the Census, Orie-Melvin will hold the controlling vote to uphold gerrymandering plans that favor Republicans. That is what happened in 2002, resulting in all the Dems being packed into a few incredibly bizarrely shapped sprawling districts, to give the GOP the advantage in many other districts. If Orie-Melvin has to resign before the new Gov. takes office, then Rendell gets to appoint her replacement.

[Divernan]

6. She'll never resign voluntarily, & can't be timely impeached before redistricting.

The ultra-conservative, uber-Catholic Ories see themselves as agents of their lord and savior, and therefore above man's law. (All the daughters' names begin with "J" - that's J for Jesus.) I cannot imagine anything which would convince her to voluntarily resign.
I was working for the State House when Justice Rolf Larsen was impeached (the only state supreme court justice to ever be removed from office). It's a very lengthy process which cannot possibly be completed before redistricting, let alone before Rendell leaves office. If Corbett is elected Governor, Orie's impeachment becomes a moot point, since he'd simply replace her with a similarly conservative GOP judge.

The House Judiciary Committee will have to appoint a subcommittee of House members to investigate charges against Orie. Majority and Minority counsel will have to be appointed; hold extensive hearings and gather evidence (that step alone took 5 months in the Larsen impeachment); and make a recommendation to the impeachment subcommittee, which will have to vote whether to recommend the full House Judiciary Committee approve articles of impeachment. If the sub-committee votes to do so, then the Judiciary Committee reviews the evidence and reports its recommendation to the full House, which will review all that evidence and then vote on whether to impeach. Then the GOP controlled Senate will control the timing of a trial of Justice Orie on said charges.

The House is in summer recess, scheduled to reconvene on Sept. 13th. Add to that, the fact that the House and Senate GOP are masters of playing hardball, and what's at stake for them for the next 10 years from the redistricting, and they will stall and delay at every single step of the way. Plus, the Grand Jury investigating Justice Orie has not concluded. I cannot see the House even having the subcommittee and Majority/Minority counsel and support staff in place before the end of the year. If Corbett gets elected Governor, that's all she wrote since he would replace Orie with another diehard Republican judge.

Redistricting Deadline
The first data released from the 2010 Census are the official national and state population counts, which are used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, this data must be delivered to the President of the United States by the Census Bureau on or before December 31, 2010.

There is no specific deadline for congressional districts. A preliminary plan must be filed 90 days from certification of the state reapportionment commission or receipt of census data for the state legislative plan. After the preliminary plan is filed, parties have 30 days to file exceptions. The legislature must adopt a plan within 30 days of the last exception filed. Aggrieved parties can appeal.

Who ís in Charge of Redistricting?

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is in charge of congressional redistricting. The five-member Legislative Reapportionment Commission handles state legislative redistricting. The leaders of the four caucuses in the legislature, or their designees are members of the commission. The four members must pick a fifth member or the state Supreme Court (where Orie has the controlling GOP vote) will do so after 30 days. The governor only has veto power over the congressional plan.

In the 1990's, PA faced a great deal of redistricting legislation. The Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission's district plan was challenged in both state and federal court. Both state and federal courts dismissed all claims.