An attorney and former Allegheny County councilman who was convicted for stealing from a client’s estate has been granted a new hearing to test claims that the judge who handled his case had several ex parte communications that may have impacted the trial.

A split three-judge Superior Court panel Wednesday determined that Charles P. McCullough should be granted a new hearing regarding whether Allegheny County Judge Lester Nauhaus had improper communications with McCullough’s former attorney and a court employee about the case.