Orie

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled Thursday that a state senator should be allowed to argue that she shouldn’t be subject to a new trial on public corruption charges because it would constitute impermissible double jeopardy.

The state Supreme Court ruled 6-0 that the lower Superior Court should reconsider the claim by Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, whose first trial on charges she misused her public office for campaign purposes ended in a mistrial.

Orie’s sister, Justice Joan Orie Melvin, did not participate in the decision.

The high court order said Superior Court should consider whether retrial should be barred on grounds that include the trial judge declaring a mistrial without considering less drastic measures.

Jurors were deliberating in Orie’s case March 3 when Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning declared a mistrial, saying there was evidence critical defense documents had been doctored.

In addition, the Supreme Court ordered the lower appeals court to consider whether the authenticity of the documents was before the jury and not the judge, whether prosecutors had time to challenge them, whether they were not material and whether the mistrial was granted to preclude an acquittal.

The justices used the case to clarify the procedure under which defendants may appeal a trial court’s ruling that a double jeopardy claim is frivolous. The ruling said Superior Court’s previous two-sentence denial of Orie’s request left unanswered questions.

“It is unclear whether the Superior Court’s order reflects an agreement with the trial court’s determination of frivolousness following an independent review ... or a determination that review was theoretically available, but automatically doomed to failure (given) the trial court’s finding,” the justices said in an unsigned opinion.

The justices said they were not persuaded by Orie’s arguments seeking their direct review.

Orie’s lawyer, Bill Costopoulos, said he was encouraged by the high court’s order, and said it left the door open for potential appeal if Superior Court rules against his client.

“I don’t know whether we’re going to be given an opportunity to argue it or not” before Superior Court, he said. “We would welcome the opportunity, but the appellate courts have now positioned it in a way that they could render a ruling in our favor without an argument.”

A spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney’s office declined comment.

The justices noted that the retrial of Orie and her co-defendant and sister, Janine Orie, is scheduled for October, and directed the Superior Court to handle the matter quickly.