Calls For Judge's Ouster Mount After PA State Trooper's Killing

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA — Calls are mounting for District Magisterial Judge Xander Orenstein of Lawrenceville to resign or be impeached following Monday's stabbing death of an off-duty Pennsylvania State Police liquor control enforcement agent.

The reason: Orenstein last year released Anthony Quesen, the suspect in the killing of Benjamin Brallier on non-monetary bail in June 2023 after he was charged with robbery and assault. Brallier, 44, was fatally stabbed while jogging on the Montour Trail in Moon.

After Orenstein permitted Quesen to walk free, he failed to appear for any court hearings.

Orenstein in April was banned by county court officials from presiding over arraignments, a procedural step in the judicial process in which bail conditions are set, after he permitted several suspects in high-profile cases or incidents to be released on non-monetary bail.

Sam DeMarco, an Allegheny County councilman and chair of the county GOP committee, released a statement calling for Orenstein's removal in the wake of Brallier's killing.

“This is not a random mistake. It’s a pattern," DeMarco said. "Orenstein has released other dangerous suspects without bail in the past. This time it cost a law enforcement officer his life.

“Orenstein must either be pressed to resign or the state legislature must remove Orenstein by impeachment.”

State Rep. Anita Kulik, D-Coraopolis, called for Orenstein's resignation and a full investigation by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

“We owe it to Brallier to get to the bottom of the chain of events that led to the officer’s murder and a violent criminal on the streets," Kulik said in a statement. "Orenstein had already been removed from handling criminal arraignments by the Allegheny County courts over reluctance to require cash bail for violent criminal cases, but this tragedy requires more scrutiny and accountability."

The Pennsylvania Constitution provides for the launch of impeachment proceedings against elected officials. The state House first must introduce articles of impeachment, which then would be followed by a trial of the elected official in the state Senate.

Republican state Sen. Devlin Robinson, whose 37th District includes Moon and other western suburbs of Pittsburgh, said Wednesday he would ask the House to begin impeachment proceedings against Orenstein.