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Serving another season

First Posted: 4/18/2013 1:57:35 PM <hardreturn>HARRISBURG &#8211; Describing former judge Michael Conahan as a &#8220;malevolent sociopath who raped the judicial system,&#8221; attorneys for former judge Ann Lokuta have once again called upon the state Supreme Court to overturn a disciplinary court's decision that removed her from office. <hardreturn> In a 78-page legal brief filed Monday, Lokuta contends the state Court of Judicial Discipline committed numerous errors during her misconduct trial, including putting far too much faith in the testimony of Conahan and others she claims he unduly influenced. Those errors were compounded by prosecutorial misconduct she alleges was committed by attorneys for the Judicial Conduct Board, whom she contends intentionally ignored a misconduct complaint filed against Conahan in order to protect the integrity of his testimony against her. The brief, filed by attorneys George Michak and Ronald Santora, is the latest legal challenge Lokuta has filed in her contentious, two-year battle to reverse the Court of Judicial Discipline's December 2008 ruling that ousted her from office. The brief raises many of the same arguments that Lokuta previously presented to the disciplinary court in attempt to convince it to grant her a new trial or alter the sanction it imposed. The court in January upheld its initial ruling, prompting the appeal to the state Supreme Court. For the complete story read Wednesday's Times Leader.

Lokuta appeals removal from office to state Supreme Court