Federal Magistrate Rejects Jane Orie's Appeal Of Conviction

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A federal magistrate in Pittsburgh has rejected former state senator Jane Orie's appeal of her campaign corruption and forgery convictions.

Orie appealed in September after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal.

The Pittsburgh-area Republican was convicted in 2012 and served 22½ months in prison for using her state-paid Senate staff to run her re-election campaigns. She was also convicted of introducing forged defense documents during her first trial in 2011, resulting in a mistrial.

Orie argued that her second trial amounted to double-jeopardy. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell says that only applies to being tried twice due to factors caused by the prosecution - not misconduct by the defense.

Mitchell rejected six other arguments Orie raised.

She didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

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