Joan Orie Melvin, a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice convicted of using the resources of her judicial chambers on her political campaigns, is arguing that the charges against her should be dismissed or that she should get a new trial or sentence, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Orie Melvin's defense counsel said in their brief to the Pennsylvania Superior Court that the trial judge, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Lester G. Nauhaus, was biased, as demonstrated by expressing "'personal opinions and improperly commenting on the evidence in front of the jury,'" the Pittsburgh paper reports.
Nauhaus crafted an unusual sentence for Orie Melvin, including ordering her to write apologies on a picture of herself in handcuffs to every judge in Pennsylvania.
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