Nation IN BRIEF : PENNSYLVANIA : State High Court Justice Convicted

A justice on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court was convicted in Pittsburgh of two counts of conspiracy and acquitted of violating drug laws by having a doctor issue prescriptions for him in his employees’ names. Justice Rolf Larsen, who had been next in line for the chief justice’s position, gasped when he heard the verdict but showed no other reaction. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count. Larsen testified he has taken tranquilizers and anti-depression drugs for a decade. He said he asked a doctor to prescribe the drugs in his court employees’ names to avoid the stigma attached to mental illness.