The Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline has ordered that Justice Joan Orie Melvin not receive her salary for the duration of her suspension. In a 44 page opinion, the majority of the Court acknowledged that it does not typically suspend the pay of a judicial officer, but in this case it believes that the charges against Justice Orie Melvin are “strong – and that they describe conduct so egregious as to require Respondent’s suspension without pay.”
 
The opinion was written by Judge Robert E.J. Curran and joined by Judges John W. Morris, Charles A. Clement Jr., John R. Cellucci and Timothy F. McCune. President Judge Bernard L. McGinley dissented but did not file an opinion.
 
Justice Orie Melvin is facing charges for the misuse of judicial staff and resources in her 2003 and 2009 campaigns for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She has been suspended from administrative and judicial duties since she was charged in May.
 
More information about the Court of Judicial Discipline’s decision is available here, here, and here (subscription required).