HARRISBURG, Pa. (Legal Newsline) - Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin earned the Republican nomination for Supreme Court Tuesday, emerging from a field of three candidates with more than half the vote.

Melvin bested Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen and Philadelphia Judge Paul Panepinto and will face Democrat Jack Panella, also a Superior Court judge, in the fall. The state GOP said voters were looking for a candidate with a proven track record of fairness.

"They found that candidate in Judge Joan Orie Melvin, whose two decades of experience on the bench make her an ideal candidate for such a critical position," said Rob Gleason, the party's chairman.

"I am proud to support Judge Joan Orie Melvin, who will ensure that Pennsylvania's highest court renders its decisions based on the law, and will not legislate from the bench."

Melvin, a Pittsburgh native, earned her law degree from Duquesne University in 1981 and spent the next four years as corporate counsel. In 1985, she was appointed Magistrate for the City of Pittsburgh Municipal Courts.

In 1990, she was appointed to a vacancy on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and was elected to the Superior Court in 1997.

From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com