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HARRISBURG - Dissenting members of the Court of Judicial Discipline say they believe the new evidence presented by former Judge Ann Lokuta convinced them that the sanction handed against her was “unduly harsh.”

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 In a 4-3 vote, the disciplinary court on Monday issued an order upholding its decision to remove Lokuta from office. Judge Richard Sprague, writing for the majority, said he did not believe any of the evidence Lokuta presented would have changed the outcome of the court’s ruling.

 In a dissenting opinion, Judge Kelley Streib said evidence demonstrated that Luzerne County “was no ordinary judicial environment.”   

 “That, to me, is a serious mitigating factor which does indeed militate in favor of an altered sanction in this case,” Streib wrote.

 Streib was joined in the dissent by judges John Musmanno and Lawrence O’Toole.

 The disciplinary court voted in December 2008 to remove Lokuta from office based on several weeks of testimony presented at a misconduct trial. The court’s order was based on Lokuta’s mistreatment of courthouse staff and attorneys who appeared before her.

 The state Supreme Court in March ordered the disciplinary court to re-examine the case following the arrests in January of former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella and former court administrator William Sharkey on corruption charges. The high court specifically directed the disciplinary court to examine “after discovered” evidence that came to light as a result of the arrests.

 In writing for the majority, Sprague said Lokuta failed to show how any of the evidence she presented would have had any bearing on the outcome of the case.

 “The criminal depredations of Conahan, Ciavarella and Sharkey provided by the petitioner were a straw to reach for. But the plain fact is, there is no straw,” Sprague said.

For the complete story read Wednesday’s Times Leader.