On April 14, 2009, then candidate for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Joan Orie Melvin told a crowd of 600 Republicans gathered in Wilkes-Barre that Republicans should vote for her in the 2009 primary so she could break the 3 to 3 GOP/Democratic deadlock on the PA Supreme Court.
This was important because, 2010 was a reapportionment year. The GOP needed her vote.
Last week, Melvin kept her promise. She voted with two other Republicans to uphold the reapportionment plan approved by the Republican dominated legislative reaaportionment commission.
Her vote, however, was not enough. Republican Chief Justice Ronald Castille voted with the three Democratic Justices to throw out the reapportionment plan.
The justices have yet to issue an opinion, however, they have reinstated the 2001 district lines for state senate and house districts in the 2012 primary. With the clock ticking, it is unlikely anything will change until the 2014 elections.
Supreme Court Justice Max Baer, one of the Democrats who voted to throw out the 2011 reapportionment plan, said, after the court ruling, that "this year's elections are going to go on the 2001 lines."
“While the rest of Pennsylvania anxiously awaits the Court’s opinion on redistricting, Justice Baer decided to provide his own commentary on the matter, violating both Judicial Canon and the Pennsylvania Constitution in the process. The fact that a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Judge would make politically-motivated comments to the press on a pending court proceeding is absolutely outrageous, especially since the court’s official opinion on the matter has not yet been released. Justice Baer’s comments are more than just an abdication of his judicial responsibilities; they are in direct contravention of both the Pennsylvania Code of Judicial Conduct and the Pennsylvania Constitution. Justice Bear should be reprimanded for his poor judgment and recuse himself from any judicial activity related to this matter.”
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