Unfair punishment
The prosecution in the Jane Orie case is seeking more than $2 million in costs and damages from her personally, an amount which would surely add lifetime impoverishment to a ruined career, including the inability to practice law, loss of a spectacular pension, a certain jail term and the inability to make a decent living after emerging from prison.
I do not have a strong argument to offer against one who has been convicted of corruption paying penalties for their actions, but there is a powerful case to be made on Jane Orie’s behalf on the grounds of disparate treatment. Former Senator Orie’s attorney is on solid ground in questioning why such extraordinary remedy is being pursued in this case and not against others whose crimes were more serious.
Our courts are expected to treat defendants fairly and to impose the same type of sanction on individuals who are similarly situated. If Jane Orie is required to pay an extraordinary amount of money that others convicted of crimes against the people have not been subjected to, there will be reason to wonder whether there is a political element to this tragic case.
Oren M. Spiegler
Upper Saint Clair