PITTSBURGH — The Western Pennsylvania prosecutor trying ethics charges against state Sen. Jane Orie wants an out-of-county jury to hear the case because Orie has claimed the prosecution is politically motivated.

Orie, an Allegheny County Republican, has said charges that she used her legislative staff to do campaign work for her and her sister, Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, were filed because she opposed the gambling industry, in which she says Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr.’s family has a financial interest. Zappala is a Democrat.

Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Claus said in a filing Wednesday that a “barrage of pretrial publicity,” including Orie’s assertions of a political motive, make it unlikely an impartial jury can be picked in the county.

Claus noted that despite Orie’s outspoken anti-gambling stance, she “did not associate the Zappala family name with the defendant’s position on gaming in any way until after the initiation of the investigation.”

Zappala has denied any political motive, and said the investigation began only after an Orie intern came to his office to complain about legislative staffers being forced to do campaign work on state time.

According to a grand jury report, at least 15 of Orie’s staffers testified that they or other staffers did campaign work or fundraising for the senator from 2001 through 2009, and on behalf of Melvin during her unsuccessful 2003 Supreme Court campaign and again in 2009 when she was elected.