HARRISBURG – Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason and Vice Chair Joyce Conklin Haas released the following statement regarding Democratic Supreme Court candidate Judge Jack Panella’s attack ads.
“Jack Panella’s negative campaign is the surest sign yet that he does not deserve to be our next Supreme Court justice,” Gleason said. “Panella’s direct attack on Judge Joan Orie Melvin’s exceptional record doesn’t pass the smell test. Furthermore, Jack Panella has broken the campaign pledge that he made to the Pennsylvania Bar Association as part of their commitment to ensuring candidates for judicial office run dignified judicial elections.
“I call on the Pennsylvania Bar Association to consider reevaluating Jack Panella’s record and ability to serve in the judiciary in light of the despicable campaign ads he is running. His negative campaign violates Formal Opinion 99-1 from The Ethics Committee of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges and Canon 7 of The Pennsylvania Code of Judicial Conduct.
“Judge Joan Orie Melvin received a ‘highly recommended’ rating from the Pennsylvania Bar Association for her distinguished record, experience and judicial temperament – all of the qualities necessary to serve on our state’s highest court. The Pennsylvania Bar Association’s rating was strengthened after three of the state’s largest newspapers, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Patriot News voiced their strong support for Judge Orie Melvin by endorsing her yesterday. Judge Orie Melvin’s work ethic is outstanding and she will make a tremendous Supreme Court justicet.”
Vice Chair Joyce Conklin Haas added, “In fact, a 1997 letter-to-the-editor in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from two police officers details how Judge Orie Melvin signed a search warrant they needed to track a narcotics suspect at 2:00 a.m. while in the labor room of Magee-Womens Hospital before giving birth to a healthy baby girl. That is just one of many examples where Judge Joan Orie Melvin has gone way beyond the call of duty to protect the safety of hardworking Pennsylvanians.
“I also find it incredibly troubling that Jack Panella is airing negative advertisements claiming that he would represent the health care needs of women better than Joan Orie Melvin, a working mother.”
The Pennsylvania Bar Association bestowed the rating of “highly recommended” on Supreme Court candidate Judge Joan Orie Melvin. They wrote:
The Candidate was elected to the Superior Court in 1997 and was retained by the voters for a second term in 2007. She previously served seven years as a judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and five years as chief magistrate of the Pittsburgh Municipal Court, where she is credited for establishing the first Domestic Violence Court in Pennsylvania. She also worked for two years on a corporate legal staff and two years in private practice in Pittsburgh. Her diligence, organizational skills and strong work ethic have served her well in handling the heavy caseload of the Superior Court. Her written opinions are cogent and well reasoned. The Candidate has an impressive record of involvement in professional activities and community service, including her recent development of a program for high school students about the legal consequences of Internet usage. She is recognized as genial and fair minded, and she has demonstrated sound judicial temperament. She is respected by her colleagues on the Superior Court, the lawyers who have appeared before her and those who have worked with her in the community. Based on her solid record of performance, the Commission concludes that the Candidate is deserving of its highest rating. (“PBA Judicial Evaluation Commission Reissues Ratings for Judicial Candidates, Provides Information for Voters,” The Pennsylvania Bar Association, 10/8/09, http://www.pabar.org/public/news%20releases/pr100809.asp)
A letter-to-the-editor submitted on November 2nd, 2007 by two police officers details how Judge Joan Orie Melvin, then a judge on the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County, signed a search warrant police needed to investigate a narcotics suspect. The officers explained that Judge Orie Melvin signed the search warrant at 2:00 a.m. in the delivery room at Maggee-Womens Hospital. (Letters To The Editor, “Working Mother Needed,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/2/97)
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