Suspended state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin's defense attorney is trying to cast doubt on the authenticity of documents prosecutors say ties the jurist to illegal campaigning in the office of her sister, former state Sen. Jane Orie.
Defense attorney Dan Brier asked the senator's former chief of staff Jamie Pavlot how documents dated in 2010 got into the files of political-related material that Pavlot testified she took home from Orie's office in November 2009 and turned over to prosecutors later that month.
Pavlot said she couldn't explain that, though on direct examination the day before Pavlot said none of the 2010 documents were in the files when she took them home. Prosecutors contend jurors who convicted Orie of campaign corruption charges last year accidentally mixed the newer documents into the file during their deliberations.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
