John Burkoff on Proposed Questioning of Jurors in Joan Orie Melvin Trial

Pitt Law Professor John Burkoff commented on the nature of additional questions potential jurors would have to answer if Joan Orie Melvin’s defense team gets its way. Attorneys for suspended Supreme Court Justice Melvin—accused of using her Superior Court office staff to help her campaign for a seat on the Supreme Court—would like to know if potential jurors saw media coverage of her case, or cases against her sisters Janine and Jane, as well as whether they or those close to them have served in government, worked for a family business, or been accused of improper conduct at work. Burkoff said the questions are interesting but not surprising. “They give you a sense of the nature of the defense that she would be making,” he said.

See the full story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review here.