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The state Judicial Conduct Board tossed a complaint against Pittsburgh magistrate Xander Orenstein after a man the judge released on no-cash bail was later charged in a fatal stabbing along the Montour Trail.
The investigation into Orenstein came at the urging of state Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-44th), who shared the Conduct Board’s letter with Next Generation Newsroom.
The letter, dated Feb. 14, stated that the Board dismissed Gaydos’ complaint after it “determined that the result of its inquiry does not support a finding of probable cause of any judicial misconduct.”
Orenstein, whose district serves parts of Lawrenceville, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, and the Strip District, declined to comment.
The jurist, who uses they/them pronouns, faced widespread scrutiny after Anthony Quesen, a man they released on non-monetary bail in 2023, was charged October in the fatal stabbing of Benjamin Brallier, 44, an off-duty state police liquor enforcement agent.
Orenstein released Quesen, 25, in June 2023 on charges of simple assault and robbery after he was accused of attempting to grab a man’s phone in Downtown Pittsburgh.
President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente pulled Orenstein from hearing arraignments in late April of 2024 following a separate no-bail decision for a suspect accused of leading state police on a high-speed chase.
Orenstein is still not hearing arraignments, said Joseph Asturi, director of government affairs and media relations for the Fifth Judicial District.
An arraignment is a hearing in which a defendant is formally charged with a crime.
Brallier’s death sparked calls for the resignation or impeachment of Orenstein by enraged elected officials, although some defended the decision as standard. New York state police later identified Quesen as a person of interest in a New York stabbing that occurred along a trail in Menands.
Quesen is housed in the Allegheny County Jail and is not eligible for bail. A preliminary hearing in Brallier’s death is scheduled for April.
Orenstein, who was elected in 2021, ran on a platform of making the judicial system more merciful and fair. Orenstein has said they previously worked as a bench scientist.
“At the end of the day, judges have a lot of discretion, and I don’t think we want to change that,” Gaydos said. "But in this case, this person needs to be unelected in my opinion."
It’s rare for elected judges to be impeached, and the letter from the Board stated the decision is final with “no appellate process applicable to review the Board’s disposition of a filed complaint.”
For Gaydos, that means the only plausible path to ousting Orenstein is the next election.
“That’s why we have elections is if we disagree with the judge’s discretion,” Gaydos said. “If there was no judicial misconduct, then the ultimate thing is people need to vote [them] out.”
The next election for Orenstein’s judicial district is in 2027.
