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<p>A Kingston attorney was admonished by a state appellate court for exceeding the word count in an appeal filed on behalf of Melissa Ann Scholl, convicted of attempting to kill her two children in Wilkes-Barre Township.</p><p>The state Superior Court on Thursday in a five-page opinion upheld Scholl&#8217;s 10- to 30-year state prison sentence imposed by Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas.</p><p>Lupas presided over the September 2017 trial for Scholl, 35, who was convicted by a jury on two counts of criminal attempt to commit homicide in the attempted deaths of her two children, Julian and Vera, 7 and 5 at the time.</p><p>Prosecutors said Scholl, of Wilkes-Barre Township, ran a hose from the exhaust pipe of her vehicle to a window when parked in a lot on Blackman Street on Dec. 9, 2015.</p><p>Scholl maintained the incident was the result of being in an abusive marriage and was a cry for help.</p><p>Scholl was convicted in a second trial as the first trial held in June 2017 was declared a mistrial after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.</p><p>As a process of Scholl&#8217;s appeal filed by her attorney, Lawrence Kansky, to the state Superior Court, Lupas submitted a 33-page opinion that the appellate court used to uphold Scholl&#8217;s sentence.</p><p>&#8220;We conclude that (Scholl) is not entitled to relief in this case and that Judge Lupas&#8217; July 18, 2018, opinion meticulously and accurately disposes of (Scholl&#8217;s) issues on appeal. We affirm on the basis of Judge Lupas&#8217; thorough opinion and adopt it as our own,&#8221; the appellate court ruled.</p><p>The Superior Court&#8217;s ruling was critical of Kansky&#8217;s appeal, noting it was 145 pages in length and exceeds 33,000 words, in &#8220;flagrant violation of Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure,&#8221; which dictates appeals shall not exceed 14,000 words.</p><p>The appellate court also noted the appeal did not contain a certificate of compliance with the word count limit and failed to attach relevant trial court opinions.</p><p>&#8220;We note that these errors and violations are particularly egregious here because (Scholl) is not acting pro se, an attorney wrote and submitted this brief,&#8221; the appellate court ruling says.</p><p>The Superior Court did not dismiss the appeal due to excessive word count and a missing certificate, instead relying upon Lupas&#8217; opinion to uphold Scholl&#8217;s sentence.</p><p>Kansky could not be reached for comment on Friday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Melissa Scholl is led out of Luzerne County Courthouse after her sentencing on November 21, 2017. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL112117Scholl1CMYK.jpg</photo0><caption0>Melissa Scholl is led out of Luzerne County Courthouse after her sentencing on November 21, 2017. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Appellate court upholds sentence for Scholl